£90,000 for rock that came on down ... from space.

A CHUNK of rare space debris that fell to Earth in the region is expected to fetch a fivefigure sum when it is auctioned next month.

The Hambleton Meteorite was found near the white horse of Kilburn, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, in August 2005.

Rob Elliott, who discovered the item with his wife, Irene, is keeping the location of the find a secret in an effort to deter rival hunters from flocking to the site.

Mr Elliott, who has been a meteoritehunter and dealer for the past 13 years, says the Hambleton rock, named after the district in which it was found, is one of the rarest ever found in the UK.

The expert, who is based in Fife, in Scotland, is auctioning off his prized 170-piece collection after its sale to a museum in York fell through.

It includes two rocks from the Moon and a piece of Mars rock, as well as one of the oldest meteorites known on Earth, the Lake Murray Meteorite, which was more than 110 million years old.

The UK’s largest private collection of space memorabilia will go under the hammer in Edinburgh on August 18.

Mr Elliott, 48, said the Hambleton Meteorite had a guide price of £60,000 to £90,000. He said: “It will be a bargain if that is all it fetches.

We are hoping it is going to go a lot higher.”

The Hambleton find is so rare because it is classed as a pallasite, a name used by experts to describe a meteorite with a certain stone and iron composition.

Mr Elliott said only one per cent of all meteorites discovered were pallasites.

Analysis shows it contains up to 60 per cent olivine, a yel- It will be a bargain if £90,000 is all it fetches. We are hoping it is going to go a lot higher Rob Elliott ‘ low-green mineral, up to 25 per cent metals – including nickel – and up to 15 per cent sulphide.

The Hambleton Meteorite weighed more than 17kg when it was discovered, meaning it is thought to have been the largest found in the UK.

A 5.8kg chunk of it, about the size of a bag of sugar, is being sold as part of Mr Elliott’s collection.

The remaining sections are in museums and laboratories.

Mr Elliott said a team of experts from the Open University is analysing a section of the Hambleton Meteorite in the hopes of finding a previously undiscovered mineral.

To bid in the sale, go to lyonandturnbull.com