Earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago, during the geological eon known as the Hadean. The name "Hadean" comes from the ...

The oldest terrestrial materials ever dated by scientists are extremely rare zircon minerals that were discovered in western ...

In 2008 scientists reported that rocks in Canada were the world’s oldest. New data appear to confirm this contested claim ...

The Hadean Eon, Earth's first geological period, remains shrouded in mystery due to scarce rock records. However, Québec's ...

Our planet has been asteroid-smashed, melted and eroded, enough that most of its original armor has been long buried. Except ...

At the time, the Earth's surface was hot enough to bake pizza, but rocks still solidified. Those in this area formed almost ...

The Hadean ran from Earth's formation roughly 4.5 billion years ago until 4.03 billion years ago. Early during this eon, a huge collision occurred that is believed to have resulted in the ...

The stones date back 4.16 billion years to the Hadean era and are the oldest known rocks on the planet. They are described in a study published June 26 in the journal Science.

These rocks are unambiguously dated at 4.03 billion years old, marking the boundary between the Hadean Eon and the next chapter in Earth’s history: the Archean.

The oldest rocks on Earth are especially helpful for scientists, as they contain Hadean minerals, which are minerals from Earth’s first geological eon. This particular eon spans from the ...