How Old is Earth?
Rocks older than 3. Greenland boasts the Isua Supracrustal rocks 3. Samples in Western Australia run 3. Research groups in Australia found the oldest mineral grains on Earth. These tiny zirconium silicate crystals have ages that reach 4. Their source rocks have not yet been found.
The rocks and zircons set a lower limit on the age of Earth of 4.
In an effort to further refine the age of Earth, scientists began to look outward. The material that formed the solar system was a cloud of dust and gas that surrounded the young sun. Gravitational interactions coalesced this material into the planets and moons at roughly the same time.
By studying other bodies in the solar system, scientists are able to find out more about the early history of the planet. The nearest body to Earth, the moon , does not suffer from the resurfacing problems that cover Earth's landscape. As such, rocks from early lunar history should be present on the moon. Samples returned from the Apollo and Luna missions revealed ages between 4. In addition to the large bodies of the solar system, scientists have also studied smaller rocky visitors to that fell to Earth.
Meteorites spring from a variety of sources. Some are cast off from other planets after violent collisions, while others are leftover chunks from the early solar system that never grew large enough to form a cohesive body.
Age of the Earth
Although no rocks have been deliberately returned from Mars , samples exist in the form of meteorites that fell to Earth long ago, allowing scientists to make approximations about the age of rocks on the red planet. Some of these samples have been dated to 4. More than 70 meteorites have fallen to Earth to have their ages calculated by radiometric dating.
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The oldest of these have ages between 4. Fifty thousand years ago, a rock hurled down from space to form Meteor Crater in Arizona. Shards of that asteroid have been collected from the crater rim and named for the nearby Canyon Diablo. In , Clair Cameron Patterson measured ratios of lead isotopes in samples that put tight constraints on Earth's age. Lead isotope isochron that Clair Patterson used to determine the age of the solar system and Earth Patterson, C. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta The animation shows progressive growth over million years Myr of the lead isotope ratios for two stony meteorites Nuevo Laredo and Forest City from initial lead isotope ratios matching those of the Canyon Diablo iron meteorite.
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Skip to main content. What about the age of the solar system? Climate Sea Levels Why will sea level rise not be the same everywhere? How can we date corals? Geology and Tectonics Geology How do we know the age of the seafloor? Why is the seafloor so recent and the continental crust so old? Where do we find the oldest continental rocks and the oldest seafloor?
What are the different types of rocks?
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What is a fossil and what are they used for? What are hydrothermal vents, and why do we find them along mid-ocean ridges? Seismology What is a seismic wave? What is the difference between body waves and surface waves? And between P-waves and S-waves? Why can't S-waves travel through liquids?
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Earthquakes and Faults Why do tectonic plates move? Brief history of the plate tectonics theory Before colliding with Asia, where was India?
Age of the Earth - Wikipedia
What is an earthquake? What is the highest magnitude an earthquake can reach? What are the biggest historical earthquakes? Why do earthquakes happen in clusters? Where are earthquakes expected in the world, especially in Asia? What is a supercontinent?
Are all the faults on Earth active? How can human activities cause climate change?