Exciting news has come through for meteorite collectors as the catalogue for the auction of Rob Elliott's famed collection has finally come through.
The Lyon and Turnbull sale has been signalled for some time - we trailed it back in January of this year - but the details are only now emerging.
Inspired by science as a child, Elliott bought his first meteorite fragment from the back of a magazine only when he was in his thirties, and has since traded, and personally hunted for, spacerocks in every corner of the globe.
But one of the key highlights of the sale was found back in Elliot's native Britain, a country in which the climate is notoriously destructive for meteorites.
This is the Hambleton Pallasite found in 2005 in Hambleton, North Yorkshire. A single mass weighing 17.6kg was found by Rob and Irene Elliott while hunting for meteorites in the county.
Pallasites are extremely rare. They are formed deep within the core/mantle boundary layer of a large asteroid, and account for just 1% of all known meteorites.
The Hambleton meteorite has been the subject of a great deal of study at the Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute at the Open University. The exciting possibility of a potential new mineral recognised within the matrix of Hambleton continues to be explored by scientists.
 Unique in the UK: the Hambleton pallasite meteorite |
Testing has shown Hambleton to have been on Earth for around 220 years. This raises the possibility that Hambleton is associated with The Great Meteor of August 18th 1783, based on observations of the meteor's track, passing over the east coast of Scotland and England.
Hambleton is "by far the rarest and scientifically most interesting meteorite recovered within the United Kingdom to date" according to the auctioneer, and the jewel in the crown of British meteorites.
Offered in the Lyon & Turnbull sale is the main mass (5.8kg): the largest piece of Hambleton in existence, which is expected to sell for £12,000-18,000, whilst a polished 725g slice is listed at £2,000-3,000.
The sale takes place on August 17 in Edinburgh. Don't miss it!
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