The Seymchan Sphere was the star lot of Christie's meteorite auction on April 20.

The sphere was polished from a fragment of the Seymchan meteorite, a 272kg hunk of space rock discovered in a dry river bed in north-eastern Russia.

The Seymchan Sphere is a polished fragment of pallasite meteorite

It's known as a pallasite, which refers to its structure - consisting of olivine crystal suspended in an iron alloy matrix.

These are among the rarest meteorites in existence, making up less than 0.2% of all meteorites found on earth.

The lot proved a big draw for collectors, achieving £92,500 ($131,535) - an increase of 825% on a £10,000 ($14,360) estimate.

A large stone meteorite discovered in the Sahara Desert realised £74,500 ($105,939).

It's designated a H chondrite, meaning it contains a high percentage of iron, and shows evidence of the heating it experienced on its journey through the atmosphere.

It also weighs in at 155kg, so presumably the buyer will be getting the bus home rather than walking.

A fragment of Moon rock glanced off the satellite by a blow from a passing meteorite also sold well, achieving £68,500 ($97,407).

These are among the rarest meteorites on the market and are very popular with collectors.

As Christie's explains: "The amount of the Moon that is not governmentally controlled and available to the private sector might fill a single oversized suitcase."

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