Doghouse Hit By Meteorite Now Up For Auction, Could Fetch Up To $300,000

A doghouse that was hit by a meteorite in 2019 is now up for auction and it is estimated to fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Aguas Zarcas is a city in the rainforest of north central Costa Rica, and it now shares its name with The Aguas Zarcas Doghouse that's currently open for bidding at Christie's online auction. This particular doghouse belonged to a German Shepherd named Roky who was almost hit by a meteorite during the meteorite shower on April 23, 2019.

According to Christie's, homes that get hit by meteorites don't usually increase in worth, but some other objects do. For instance, a mailbox that was torn off the post by a meteorite in Georgia sold at an auction for $83,000 in 2007, while an old Chevy Malibu that was bought for $400 sold for a whopping $69,000 after it was struck by the Peekskill meteorite.

The doghouse, which is made of wood with a tin roof and the letter "R" painted on, has a seven-inch hole through which the meteorite smashed into the house. The wooden floor also bears the mark of the impact. Photos of the curiosity are available on Christie's website.

"The formal coordinates of Roky's home, 10°24’9.35"N 84°21’51.26"W, are now forever part of the scientific literature," Christie's noted.

The Aguas Zarcas Doghouse is a part of Christie's Deep Impact: Martian, Lunar and Other Rare Meteorites online auction, which is currently ongoing and also includes the Aguas Zarcas meteorite that came through the roof of Roky's house.

It is estimated that the doghouse could fetch up to $200,000 to $300,000. So far, however, the bids are up to $1,600.

'Extremely Rare' Meteorites

It is important to note the difference between meteors, meteoroids and meteorites since these terms are often erroneously used interchangeably.

Meteoroids are the rocks found in space, but they are considered meteors only once they enter the atmosphere of a planet. If they survive the atmosphere and hit the ground, they're then called meteorites. These surviving fragments are then typically named after the closest geological feature, city or country from where they landed, Christie's explained.

"Meteorites are extremely rare: the combined mass of all known meteorites is less than the world's annual output of gold," Christie’s noted.

According to NASA, less than 5% of original space rocks end up surviving the atmosphere and hitting the ground. Even during meteor showers, which typically originate from comets, the materials are quite fragile and don't usually survive the reentry. However, the ones that do survive can provide valuable insight into the history of our solar system as they are often comprised of the materials that formed the planets.

In the case of the Aguas Zarcas meteorites, they are believed to be the same type as the Murchison, said to be among the "most researched meteorites of all time."