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Stan the T-Rex Sells for Record-breaking $31.8 Mn

Stan is at display at Christie's in New York. AP file photo
Stan is at display at Christie's in New York. AP file photo
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Stan the T-Rex Sells for Record-breaking $31.8 Mn

Stan is at display at Christie's in New York. AP file photo
Stan is at display at Christie's in New York. AP file photo

One of the most complete specimens of a T-Rex fossil in the world was sold for a record $31.8 million Tuesday by Christie's in New York, nearly quadrupling the previous highest price for a dinosaur at auction.

The apex predator made mincemeat of Christie's opening price of between six and eight million dollars, showing off the lasting power of the T-Rex.

It then shredded the previous record set by a specimen called Sue that was sold for $8.4 million in October 1997 by Sotheby's to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Only around 50 Tyrannosaurus fossils have been discovered since the first was unearthed in 1902.

Bids hit the $9 million mark in less than two minutes after the start of the auction, but after 14 minutes there were just three bidders left in the race, until the hammer came down on an offer of $27.5 million, to which were added costs and commissions.

The sale was organized in New York, where the expert assessor was located, but with lines open to Hong Kong and London, where Christie's specialists were taking calls from collectors.

The fossil, nicknamed Stan, stands 13 feet (four meters) high and 40 feet long, with puncture marks in the skull and neck that experts believe show evidence of fights with fellow T-Rexes. He would have weighed in at around eight tons when alive, some 67 million years ago.

The fossil was discovered in South Dakota in 1987 and named after the amateur paleontologist who came across the remains, Stan Sacrison.

Paleontologists from the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in South Dakota spent more than 30,000 hours excavating and then assembling the 188 bones of the skeleton, AFP reported.

Casts were then taken for dozens of museums around the world that wanted a copy of this exceptional specimen of Tyrannosaur, which experts believe was around 20 years old when it died.

Ironically, the terms of the sale prevent the buyer from producing 3D models of the dinosaur.

By law, such specimens can only be sold if the fossil was discovered on private land, which in this case it was.

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Sunshine Abounds as the Summer Solstice Arrives

Children cool off as they run through a public fountain in Colmar, eastern France, on August 21, 2023, as France experiences a late summer heatwave. (AFP)
Children cool off as they run through a public fountain in Colmar, eastern France, on August 21, 2023, as France experiences a late summer heatwave. (AFP)
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Sunshine Abounds as the Summer Solstice Arrives

Children cool off as they run through a public fountain in Colmar, eastern France, on August 21, 2023, as France experiences a late summer heatwave. (AFP)
Children cool off as they run through a public fountain in Colmar, eastern France, on August 21, 2023, as France experiences a late summer heatwave. (AFP)

Peak sunshine has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere: the summer solstice.

Friday is the longest day of the year north of the equator, where the solstice marks the start of astronomical summer. It's the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the shortest day of the year and winter will start.

The word “solstice” comes from the Latin words “sol” for sun and “stitium” which can mean “pause” or “stop.” The solstice is the end of the sun's annual march higher in the sky, when it makes its longest, highest arc. The bad news for sun lovers: It then starts retreating and days will get a little shorter every day until late December.

People have marked solstices for eons with celebrations and monuments, including Stonehenge, which was designed to align with the sun's paths at the solstices. Here’s what to know about the Earth’s orbit.

Solstices are when days and nights are at their most extreme

As the Earth travels around the sun, it does so at an angle relative to the sun. For most of the year, the Earth’s axis is tilted either toward or away from the sun. That means the sun’s warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet.

The solstices mark the times during the year when this tilt is at its most extreme, and days and nights are at their most unequal.

During the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice, the upper half of the earth is tilted toward the sun, creating the longest day and shortest night of the year. This solstice falls between June 20 and 22.

Meanwhile, at the winter solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is leaning away from the sun, leading to the shortest day and longest night of the year. The winter solstice falls between December 20 and 23.

The equinox is when there is an equal amount of day and night

During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight.

The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night. That’s because on the equinox, day and night last almost the same amount of time, though one may get a few extra minutes, depending on where you are on the planet.

The Northern Hemisphere’s spring, or vernal, equinox can land between March 19 and 21, depending on the year. Its fall, or autumnal, equinox can land between Sept. 21 and 24.

On the equator, the sun will be directly overhead at noon. Equinoxes are the only time when both the north and south poles are lit by sunshine at the same time.

What's the difference between meteorological and astronomical seasons? These are just two different ways to carve up the year.

While astronomical seasons depend on how the Earth moves around the sun, meteorological seasons are defined by the weather. They break down the year into three-month seasons based on annual temperature cycles. By that calendar, spring starts on March 1, summer on June 1, fall on Sept. 1 and winter on Dec. 1.