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Part of a meteorite, which has links to Michael Jackson, is to be auctioned off next week.
The late pop star bought one half of the meteorite in 2003 and the second piece is now up for sale.
According to auctioneers, it spent four-and-a-half billion years in outer space and is believed to have been found in the Sahara desert by a nomad, who sold it to meteorite collector Robert Elliott.
The piece is valued at £250 and will be sold at Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh on Monday.
In 2002 Mr Elliott gave Jackson a small meteorite gift. Soon afterwards, the performer is said to have requested another, larger meteorite "in the shape of a star".
But Mr Elliott said sculpting meteorites into star shapes was not his speciality, so a compromise was reached and the meteorite was cut, with one part remaining in The Elliott Collection and the other going to Jackson.
Both halves were polished to a high lustre, each revealing a myriad of shiny, metallic flecks mixed with the dark, stony insides of the meteorite.
The auction is expected to attract interest from astronomers and international collectors.
Source: Belfast Telegraph
