Martian meteorite that is the largest known piece of Mars found on Earth has sold for $5.3 million at Sotheby's, setting a new auction record for a meteorite. The auction on Wednesday for the rock known as NWA 16788 sparked a 15-minute bidding war between online and phone bidders.

A meteorite that is the largest known piece of Mars on Earth has sold for $5.3 million, with taxes and fees, to an anonymous bidder at a Sotheby’s New York auction Wednesday.

The odds of this getting from there to here are astronomically small, Sotheby’s Cassandra Hatton said, as record-breaking Martian meteorite NWA 16788 is set to sell under the hammer in New York. Weighing in at 54 pounds,