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

New research suggests that the geological site harbors the oldest known surviving fragments of Earth’s crust, dating back to 4.16 billion years ago.

The original study, by a different group, made headlines with the claim that the crater formed 3.5 billion years ago. If true, it would be Earth’s oldest by far.

More information: Natural hydrogen resource accumulation in the continental crust, Nature Reviews Earth & Environment (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s43017-025-00670-1 ...

Earth’s crust won’t be able to withstand all that weight and pressure in such a small area. The neutron ball will sink. “It’s going to be pretty much free-falling,” Duez said.

The origins of plate tectonics on Earth are hotly debated, but evidence from Australia now shows that parts of the crust ...

Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, and as the eons passed, the crust of the young planet experienced turbulence. Asteroid collisions shattered some parts, which melted and recrystallized, while ...