Moon On Earth: Rare 30 pound moon piece being sold in UK auction house and expected to fetch 2 million pounds ($2.49 million)

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The Moon piece is on sale in London, UK. It is being told that the reason for this is 13.5 kg (or 30 pound). The initial price of this piece has been kept at two million pounds (about Rs 19 crore). London-based auction house Christie sent it for auction.

The rock of the moon is said to have been broken after colliding with an asteroid or comet. Due to which this piece fell into the Sahara desert. It is named NWA-12691. It is believed to be the fifth largest piece of the Moon found on Earth. No one knows how long it lay in the sand before as no one saw it fall as a nomad found it three years ago.

“It could have been 500 years ago, it could have been 5,000,” said James Hyslop, head of the science and natural history department at Christie’s, which plans to offer the rock for sale at its next online meteorite auction, tentatively scheduled for later this month. It is a piece of the moon, and the experience of holding a piece of another world in your hands is something you never forget, said James Hyslop.

Apollo astronauts nicknamed 'Big Muley' brought the largest lunar rock to Earth - it was returned by Apollo 16 in 1972 and weighted 26lbs. There’s only less than 650 kg of lunar meteorites known to be on earth. Meteorites are incredibly rare and only about one in a thousand comes from the moon, making this a very special object, James Hyslop added.

Since the dawn of human history, the moon has fascinated man as a symbol of power, love, time and prosperity, and is the earth's only natural satellite, which scientists say have been formed 4.5 billion years ago.

Christie's is also offering a group of 13 aesthetic iron meteorites for private sale. That collection is estimated to be worth 1.4 million pounds, which is also available for immediate purchase via Christie’s Private Sales.