Scientists using two different age-determining techniques have shown that a tiny zircon crystal found on a sheep ranch in western Australia is the oldest known piece of our planet, dating to 4.4 billion years ago.4.4 BILLION years old. Damn. That's even older than the next GOP candidate for president. And no, I don't think the earth is six thousand years old, or whatever ridiculously short period of time some narrow-minded folks think the earth has been around. This s**t be old, folks.
Writing in the journal Nature Geoscience on Sunday, the researchers said the discovery indicates that Earth's crust formed relatively soon after the planet formed and that the little gem was a remnant of it.
Of course, given that the crystal was found in Australia, the big question is how many deadly creatures the scientists had to fend off in order to collect it...
That is all.
8 comments:
OK, I admit it...when I first saw the title, I thought that you were posting about a certain Old NFO that we all know.
;-)
And why did they choose that particular sheep ranch to collect the the sample from?
Note to climate change Chicken Littles - this crystal dates how long climate change has been going on on the Earth, too. I.e., for as long as it has existed.
And no, I don't think the earth is six thousand years old
Believe it or not, Pat Robertson agrees with you.
Al Gore says he invented the crystal.
Gerry
How do we know this isn't a shard of Pure Evil? That would explain Australia's fauna.
Hey now... I was NOT there! :-) Neat little crystal though!
I don't hike the outback in OZ but I've swam (swum?) in the Murray River and a lake, hiked around in a couple of farm fields and never run into anything bad.
Anonymous, watch out for the redbacks, and the brown snakes.
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