Shape, Hyslop continues, “for me is the most interesting. Most meteorites just look like a pebble you found in your driveway—they’re not engaging or beautiful.” One in a thousand, though, “has something magical.”

He points to Lot 62 in his sale, a piece of iron that formed around 4.5 billion years ago inside the molten core of an asteroid. Estimated from $200,000 to $300,000, “you’d assume it was a Henry Moore or a Giacometti,” Hyslop says. “It’s just breathtakingly beautiful, and the sculptural forces which shaped it just so happened to be extraterrestrial.”

Next is the science: A slice of the moon, Hyslop says, is invariably more valuable that something that came from a huge asteroid belt, which is at least part of the reason the auction’s massive piece of Mars is so expensive.

The 20-pound chunk, which Hyslop says was thrown into orbit when a meteorite hit the Red Planet at a glancing angle, matches the chemical signature of Mars exactly, says Hyslop. “It’s one of the few specimens of Mars we have on Earth at the moment.” The final quality—story—is obviously the most fun, and the Christie’s auction has some excellent contenders.

Most notable is a lot consisting of a Costa Rican dog house.

“You have the puncture hole, and the meteorite that caused it,” Hyslop says. The dog, a German Shepherd named Roky, was unscathed. (“That was my first question,” says Hyslop.) The doghouse tableau (Lot 4) is estimated from $200,000 and $300,000, while the offending meteorite (Lot 8) is being sold separately, carrying an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.

A (Mostly) Global Market
Hyslop says bidders are now spread around the world. “Historically, most of the buyers for this material would have been in the U.S.,” simply because for years Americans were the most committed—and deep pocketed—collectors of extraterrestrial ephemera in the field. “But it’s becoming a more and more global market.”

Last year’s sale had buyers in 23 countries, he continues, “although there are some geographic black spots, where they just don’t buy meteorites.” (Russia, apparently, is one such demand void.)

The majority of lots are offered with no reserve, meaning that despite their estimates, a lucky bidder could potentially walk away paying a few hundred dollars.

“There’s another piece of Mars estimated at $120,000 to $180,000,” Hyslop says. “It will be starting at $100.”