How Old is the Earth

Earth is almost 4.543 billion years of age. There is no confirm age certificate about the age of the earth, this means that scientists spend a lot of time and hundreds of years to find out about the age of the earth. This has been estimated by finding out about the age of rocks. This has been done according to the age of the moon and meteorites. The age is estimated as 4.54 billion years ago and there is an error of 50 million years. Researchers have been doing their research for the past 400 years. The prediction has been done from the changing sea levels, or what time it takes for the sun and earth to be cool in the present temperatures.

How big is the earth

:star2: Earth is the third planet of the sun and it is the fifth-biggest planet in the solar system. There are only 5 biggest planets i.e. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. In the terrestrial planets of the inside solar system, Earth is the largest than Mercury, Venus, and Mars. 3963 miles is the radius of Earth at the equator. This estimation has been given by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. As Earth is not a sphere but the rotation of planets causes the bump at the equator. The polar radius of the earth is 3950 miles and 6356 km. There is a difference of 22 km and 13 miles. The equatorial circumference of the earth is almost 24,901 miles and 40,075 km; this estimation is done by using the previous measurements. Earth is 24,860 miles as meridional circumference. By poles flattening, this shape of the earth is caused and called an oblate spheroid.

Volume mass and density of the earth

:star2: According to NASA, the density of the earth is 5.513 grams per cubic centimeter. Earth has a metallic core and rocky mantle and because of these characteristics, the earth is the densest planet of the solar system. As Jupiter is 318 times more gigantic than the earth, but it has less density as compared to earth. This is because Jupiter is made up of gases such as Hydrogen. The mass of Earth is 6.6 sextillion tons i.e. 5.9722. 10^24. The volume of earth is 260 billion cubic miles i.e. one trillion cubic kilometers. Almost 197 million square miles is the total surface area of the earth. In all this surface area, 29 percent of the earth is covered by land and 71 percent of the earth is covered by water.

Highest and lowest points of the earth

:star2: On Earth, Mount Everest is the highest place. It is 29,028 feet and 8848 meters but this place is not the highest point of earth. This means that this place is the most distant place from the center of the earth. In the Andes Mountain in Ecuador, this distinction belongs to Mount Chimborazo. This estimation is given by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration i.e. NOAA. Though, Chimborazo is 10,000 feet smaller than Everest. Because of the equatorial bump, this mountain is almost 6800 feet and 2073 m distant from space. Challenger Deep in Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean is the lowest point of earth. The lowest point belongs to western countries. This estimation is given by NOAA. This lowest point is 36,200 feet i.e. 11,034 Meters deep from sea level.

Speed of earth around the sun

:pushpin: Many Astronomers of the past times believe that all people live in the geocentric universe. This means that the earth is present at the center of everything. They also said that the sun revolves around us and this movement causes the sunrise and sunsets. This theory was also the same for the movements of planets and the moon. This theory did not work as some things were not according to this theory. There were times when the planet did not complete its circle but back to its previous position without backup. When the earth is combining with another planet in its orbits, there is a motion that is called retrograde motion. For Example, Mars is distant from the sun than Earth so, it orbits farther than the sun. There is one point at which both of the Earth and Mars will combine to Red Planet and then pass it. When we pass by Mars, the planet moves back into the sky. When we have passed, then the planet moves forward again.

Evidence from sun

Looking at the parallax or change in the position of stars, there is another evidence for the solar systems that they are sun-centered. For a simple example of parallax, at arm’s length hold your index finger. Close your right eye and see it with your left eye. Then close the left eye and see it with the right eye. The position of your finger will be slightly changed. This is because of the difference in angles in the left and right eye. When we see a star, this same thing happens on Earth. To orbit around the Sun, Earth takes 365 days. There are changes in the position of stars when we see them in winters and summers separately. This is because we are at a different point in different seasons. With the help of simple calculations, we can calculate the distance to stars on parallax.

Summary

Earth is almost 4.543 billion years of age. There is no confirm age certificate about the age of the earth, this means that scientists spend a lot of time and hundreds of years to find out about the age of the earth. Earth is the third planet of the sun and it is the fifth-biggest planet in the solar system. According to NASA, the density of the earth is 5.513 grams per cubic centimeter. The mass of Earth is 6.6 sextillion tons i.e. 5.9722. 10^24. The volume of earth is 260 billion cubic miles i.e. one trillion cubic kilometers. On Earth, Mount Everest is the highest place. It is 29,028 feet and 8848 meters but this place is not the highest point of earth. . Challenger Deep in Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean is the lowest point of earth. Many Astronomers of the past times believe that all people live in the geocentric universe.

We are spinning

:sweat_drops: Earth is spinning constantly, but the speed of spinning is only dependent on the latitude at which we are located. According to NASA, the distance from the largest part of Earth is 24,898 miles i.e. 40,070 kilometers. All this area that is calculated is called the equator. If you assume that a day is 24 hours long, then divide the circumference by the length of day. All this procedure will produce a speed of almost 1037 mph at the equator. At other latitudes, you cannot move fast as this. You can calculate the speed by using a calculator if you are moving to the globe at 45 degrees in latitude. There should a good calculator with an available cosine function. If you don’t know how to calculate this, then you should know that the value of cosine 45 is 0.707.

:sweat_drops: So the spin speed at 45 degrees is 733 mph which is 1180 km/h. When you go further north and South, this speed decreases. When you reached the north and south place, the spin will definitely slow down and it takes a whole one day for the spin. The advantage of Earth’s spin is taken by Space agencies. If a human is sent in space, and if the location that is preferred is near to the equator. That’s why cargo missions are sent to space stations i.e. launch from Florida. By sending and launching a rocket in the same direction as Earth’s spin, will boost the speed of the rocket and help them to fly in space.

Earth orbit around the sun

:arrow_right: In space, there are also many movements with the spin of Earth. The speed of Earth around the sun is almost 67000 mph i.e. 107,000 km/h according to Cornell. With the help of basic Geometry, we can calculate this. Firstly, we have to find out that what distance Earth travels. What time it takes its whole spin and assumes that it is a circle. As we know that Earth takes 365 days in its whole spin. The circumference of a circle is an Earth’s orbit. The whole distance that is from the Earth to Sun is called an astronomical unit. It is 92,955,807 miles and 149,597,870 kilometers from the sun. This distance is estimated by International Astronomers Union. This is called a radius. The boundary of a circle is equal to 2.pi.r. So in a year, Earth travels about 584 million miles and 940 million km.

:arrow_right: As we know that speed is equal to the distance, so the speed of Earth is calculated by dividing 584 million miles by 365 days. Then divide the whole result to 24 hours to get miles per hour and km per hour. So as a result of all calculations, Earth travels almost 1.6 million miles i.e. 2.6 million km in a day. This distance may be 66,627 mph and 107,226 km/h.

Movement of Sun and Galaxy

:arrow_right: In a milky way, the sun has its own orbit. From the center of the galaxy, the sun is almost 25,000 light-years. The Milky Way is 100,000 light-years. According to Stanford University, we are thinking to be about half away out from the center. The sun and solar systems are said to be moving at 200 km per second. These may also move at the medium speed of 448,000 mph i.e. 720,000 km/h. The solar system would take almost 230 million years to travel all the way of the Milky Way at this rapid speed. The Milky Way also moves around in space with other galaxies. Andromeda Galaxy will collide with the nearest member Milky Way in 4 billion years. Both of these are moving towards each other at a speed of 70 miles per second i.e. 112 km per second. All things in the universe are in motion.

If Earth stopped spinning

:arrow_right: There is no way that you will be sent in space in present conditions, this is because the gravity of Earth is so strong as compared to the spinning motion. The spinning motion is also called centripetal acceleration. At the equator, which is the strongest point, the spinning motion will prevent Earth’s gravity by almost 0.3 percent. The change will not be noticeable, but your weight at the equator will be less as compared to the poles. According to NASA, there is no chance that the spinning of the earth will be stopped in the next few billion years. And if Earth stops moving at a sudden point, then the effects will be disgusting. The atmosphere on the earth will continue rotating at the real speed of Earth’s spin. This actually means that everything will be finished including humans, buildings, trees, topsoil, and rocks. NASA said that this scenario is more like billions of years. This is because the sun and moon are pulling on Earth’s spin. This change will give sufficient time to humans to get used to this.

:pencil2: According to the law of Physics, if the Earth spins at the slowest speed, then it will take 365 days to complete its 1 rotation. This condition is called ‘sun synchronous’. This will force one side of the planet to always face the sun. The other side will be always away from the sun. When we do a comparison, the moon of Earth is always in Earth synchronous rotation. This is where one side of the moon faces humans and the other side is opposite to us. In past, when there was a no-spin scenario, there would have been the same effects if Earth stopped spinning. This whole thing has been said by NASA. The magnetic field would have been finished. This is because; it has been generated by a spin. We will lose our radiation belts that surround the earth. Then Earth will be present in front of the sun, there will be no protection rays surrounding the earth. According to NASA, the charged particles will be ejected towards the earth and it will hit the surface of the earth and everything will be finished.

Age of rocks

:pencil2: The age of the earth has been estimated by finding the age of rocks. The age was estimated by the dating method. As there was a success in dating technology, all these methods proved that these are not reliable. For example, according to this process, the increase and decrease of the ocean were shown as a changing process, not as a declining one. The other efforts that scientists were doing to calculate the age of earth include the rocks that cover the whole planet. Although rock’s plate tectonics were constantly changing, and the crust was remade, the first rock has been recycled, melted down, and then reformed.

:pencil2: Scientists must search about an issue called Great Unconformity. This issue will tell that from where the sedimentary rocks are missing. At the Grand Canyon, there are 1.2 billion years of rock that cannot be found. There were various explanations about this issue. In 2019, one of the studies tells that because of the global ice age, glaciers are converted into rock.

Summary

Earth is spinning constantly, but the speed of spinning is only dependent on the latitude at which we are located. According to NASA, the distance from the largest part of Earth is 24,898 miles i.e. 40,070 kilometers. The circumference of a circle is an Earth’s orbit. The whole distance that is from the Earth to Sun is called an astronomical unit. At the equator, which is the strongest point, the spinning motion will prevent Earth’s gravity by almost 0.3 percent. The change will not be noticeable, but your weight at the equator will be less as compared to the poles. The age was estimated by the dating method. As there was a success in dating technology, all these methods proved that these are not reliable.

How scientists find out the age of rock

Scientists use the radiometric method in the early 20th century. At a predictable rate, some of the radioactive elements will decay into other elements. Researchers can find out the starting quantity of radioactive elements by seeing the existing elements. They also observe that what time does a rock takes to decay. This research helps them to identify the age of rock. The oldest rock is found in Acasta Gneiss in northwestern Canada which is near Great Slave Lake. This lake is 4.03 billion years old. All the rocks that are 3.5 billion years are found in all islands. 3.4 to 3.5 billion years old rocks are present in Swaziland. In Western Australia 3.4 billion to 3.6 billion years old samples are present.
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/03/09/15/28/rocks-1246668__340.jpg

In Australia, researchers find out the oldest mineral grains on Earth. All these tiny crystals are above 4.3 billion years old that made them the oldest mineral on the Earth. The source of these is not found to date. The planet must have to be older than having anything in itself, so rocks and Zircons set the limit age of the earth at 4.3 billion years old. When life came into being, this topic is still debatable because the oldest fossils can appear as rock forms naturally. In 2018, a study has revealed that there were pieces of evidence of the oldest form of life present in Australia. The people also find out the 3.4 billion old rocks that may be fossils. Some of the studies suggested that life came into being even earlier than this. Researchers also saw cone-like structures when they were looking at the rocks in southwestern Greenland. These structures were 3.7 billion years old.

Frequently asked questions

1.What is the speed of the earth around the sun?

Many Astronomers of the past times believe that all people live in the geocentric universe. This means that the earth is present at the center of everything. They also said that the sun revolves around us and this movement causes the sunrise and sunsets. This theory was also the same for the movements of planets and the moon. This theory did not work as some things were not according to this theory. There were times when the planet did not complete its circle but back to its previous position without backup. When the earth is combining with another planet in its orbits, there is a motion that is called retrograde motion. For Example, Mars is distant from the sun than Earth so, it orbits farther than the sun. There is one point at which both of the Earth and Mars will combine to Red Planet and then pass it. When we pass by Mars, the planet moves back into the sky. When we have passed, then the planet moves forward again.

2. What is the age of Earth?

Earth is almost 4.543 billion years of age. There is no confirm age certificate about the age of the earth, this means that scientists spend a lot of time and hundreds of years to find out about the age of the earth. This has been estimated by finding out about the age of rocks. This has been done according to the age of the moon and meteorites. The age is estimated as 4.54 billion years ago and there is an error of 50 million years. Researchers have been doing their research for the past 400 years. The prediction has been done from the changing sea levels, or what time it takes for the sun and earth to be cool in the present temperatures.

3. When Earth will stop spinning, what will happen?

There is no way that you will be sent in space in present conditions, this is because the gravity of Earth is so strong as compared to the spinning motion. The spinning motion is also called centripetal acceleration. At the equator, which is the strongest point, the spinning motion will prevent Earth’s gravity by almost 0.3 percent. The change will not be noticeable, but your weight at the equator will be less as compared to the poles. According to NASA, there is no chance that the spinning of the earth will be stopped in the next few billion years. And if Earth stops moving at a sudden point, then the effects will be disgusting. The atmosphere on the earth will continue rotating at the real speed of Earth’s spin. This actually means that everything will be finished including humans, buildings, trees, topsoil, and rocks. NASA said that this scenario is more like billions of years. This is because the sun and moon are pulling on Earth’s spin. This change will give sufficient time to humans to get used to this.

4. How Earth orbit around the sun?

In space, there are also many movements with the spin of Earth. The speed of Earth around the sun is almost 67000 mph i.e. 107,000 km/h according to Cornell. With the help of basic Geometry, we can calculate this. Firstly, we have to find out that what distance Earth travels. What time it takes its whole spin and assumes that it is a circle. As we know that Earth takes 365 days in its whole spin. The circumference of a circle is an Earth’s orbit. The whole distance that is from the Earth to Sun is called an astronomical unit. It is 92,955,807 miles and 149,597,870 kilometers from the sun. This distance is estimated by International Astronomers Union. This is called a radius. The boundary of a circle is equal to 2.pi.r. So in a year, Earth travels about 584 million miles and 940 million km.

5. What are the highest and lowest points on Earth?

On Earth, Mount Everest is the highest place. It is 29,028 feet and 8848 meters but this place is not the highest point of earth. This means that this place is the most distant place from the center of the earth. In the Andes Mountain in Ecuador, this distinction belongs to Mount Chimborazo. This estimation is given by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration i.e. NOAA. Though, Chimborazo is 10,000 feet smaller than Everest. Because of the equatorial bump, this mountain is almost 6800 feet and 2073 m distant from space. Challenger Deep in Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean is the lowest point of earth. The lowest point belongs to western countries. This estimation is given by NOAA. This lowest point is 36,200 feet i.e. 11,034 Meters deep from sea level.

6. What is the volume, mass, and density of the earth?

According to NASA, the density of the earth is 5.513 grams per cubic centimeter. Earth has a metallic core and rocky mantle and because of these characteristics, the earth is the densest planet of the solar system. As Jupiter is 318 times more gigantic than the earth, but it has less density as compared to earth. This is because Jupiter is made up of gases such as Hydrogen. The mass of Earth is 6.6 sextillion tons i.e. 5.9722. 10^24. The volume of earth is 260 billion cubic miles i.e. one trillion cubic kilometers. Almost 197 million square miles is the total surface area of the earth. In all this surface area, 29 percent of the earth is covered by land and 71 percent of the earth is covered by water.

7. Will the Earth last forever?

According to the law of Physics, if the Earth spins at the slowest speed, then it will take 365 days to complete its 1 rotation. This condition is called ‘sun synchronous’. This will force one side of the planet to always face the sun. The other side will be always away from the sun. When we do a comparison, the moon of Earth is always in Earth synchronous rotation. This is where one side of the moon faces humans and the other side is opposite to us. In past, when there was a no-spin scenario, there would have been the same effects if Earth stopped spinning. This whole thing has been said by NASA. The magnetic field would have been finished. This is because; it has been generated by a spin. We will lose our radiation belts that surround the earth. Then Earth will be present in front of the sun, there will be no protection rays surrounding the earth. According to NASA, the charged particles will be ejected towards the earth and it will hit the surface of the earth and everything will be finished.

8. Is there any movement of Stars and Galaxy?

In a milky way, the sun has its own orbit. From the center of the galaxy, the sun is almost 25,000 light-years. The Milky Way is 100,000 light-years. According to Stanford University, we are thinking to be about half away out from the center. The sun and solar systems are said to be moving at 200 km per second. These may also move at the medium speed of 448,000 mph i.e. 720,000 km/h. The solar system would take almost 230 million years to travel all the way of the Milky Way at this rapid speed. The Milky Way also moves around in space with other galaxies. Andromeda Galaxy will collide with the nearest member Milky Way in 4 billion years. Both of these are moving towards each other at a speed of 70 miles per second i.e. 112 km per second. All things in the universe are in motion.

9. How the speed/spinning of Earth is calculated?

You can calculate the speed by using a calculator if you are moving to the globe at 45 degrees in latitude. There should a good calculator with an available cosine function. If you don’t know how to calculate this, then you should know that the value of cosine 45 is 0.707. So the spin speed at 45 degrees is 733 mph which is 1180 km/h. When you go further north and South, this speed decreases. When you reached the north and south place, the spin will definitely slow down and it takes a whole one day for the spin. The advantage of Earth’s spin is taken by Space agencies. If a human is sent in space, and if the location that is preferred is near to the equator. That’s why cargo missions are sent to space stations i.e. launch from Florida. By sending and launching a rocket in the same direction as Earth’s spin, will boost the speed of the rocket and help them to fly in space.

10. How the age of the rock is calculated?

The age of the earth has been estimated by finding the age of rocks. The age was estimated by the dating method. As there was a success in dating technology, all these methods proved that these are not reliable. For example, according to this process, the increase and decrease of the ocean were shown as a changing process, not as a declining one. The other efforts that scientists were doing to calculate the age of earth include the rocks that cover the whole planet. Although rock’s plate tectonics were constantly changing, and the crust was remade, the first rock has been recycled, melted down, and then reformed.

Conclusion

The age of Earth is estimated as 4.54 billion years ago. There is an error of 50 million years. Earth is the largest than Mercury, Venus, and Mars. 3963 miles is the radius of Earth at the equator. Earth is covered by land of less than 30 percent and 71 percent of the earth is covered by water. The prediction has been done from the changing sea levels, or what time it takes for the sun and earth to be cool in the present temperatures. From the definition of the law of Physics, if the Earth spins at the very slow speed, then it will take 365 days to complete its 1 rotation. From the center of the galaxy, the sun is almost 25,000 light-years. The Milky Way is 100,000 light-years. The speed of Earth around the sun is about 67000 mph i.e. 107,000 km/h according to Cornell.

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Earth is estimated to be 4.54 billion years old, plus or minus about 50 million years. Scientists have scoured the Earth searching for the oldest rocks to radiometrically date. In northwestern Canada, they discovered rocks about 4.03 billion years old. Then, in Australia, they discovered minerals about 4.3 billion years old. Researchers know that rocks are continuously recycling, due to the rock cycle, so they continued to search for data elsewhere. Since it is thought the bodies in the solar system may have formed at similar times, scientists analyzed moon rocks collected during the moon landing and even meteorites that have crash-landed on Earth. Both of these materials dated to between 4.4 and 4.5 billion years. Planet Earth doesn’t have a birth certificate to record its formation, which means scientists spent hundreds of years struggling to determine the age of the planet. So, just how old is Earth? By dating the rocks in Earth’s ever-changing crust, as well as the rocks in Earth’s neighbors, such as the moon and visiting meteorites, scientists have calculated that Earth is 4.54 billion years old, with an error range of 50 million years. Scientists have made several attempts to date the planet over the past 400 years. They’ve attempted to predict the age based on changing sea levels, the time it took for Earth or the sun to cool to present temperatures, and the salinity of the ocean. As the dating technology progressed, these methods proved unreliable; for instance, the rise and fall of the ocean was shown to be an ever-changing process rather than a gradually declining one. And in another effort to calculate the age of the planet, scientists turned to the rocks that cover its surface. However, because plate tectonics constantly changes and revamps the crust, the first rocks have long since been recycled, melted down and reformed into new outcrops. Scientists also must battle an issue called the Great Unconformity, which is where sedimentary layers of rock appear to be missing (at the Grand Canyon, for example, there’s 1.2 billion years of rock that can’t be found. There are multiple explanations for this uncomformity; in early 2019, one study suggested that a global ice age caused glaciers to grind into the rock, causing it to disintegrate. Plate tectonics then threw the crushed rock back into the interior of the Earth, removing the old evidence and turning it into new rock. In the early 20th century, scientists refined the process of radio metric dating. Earlier research had shown that isotopes of some radioactive elements decay into other elements at a predictable rate. By examining the existing elements, scientists can calculate the initial quantity of a radioactive element, and thus how long it took for the elements to decay, allowing them to determine the age of the rock. The oldest rocks on Earth found to date are the Acasta Gneiss in northwestern Canada near the Great Slave Lake, which are 4.03 billion years old. But rocks older than 3.5 billion years can be found on all continents. Greenland boasts the Isua supracrustal rocks (3.7 to 3.8 billion years old), while rocks in Swaziland are 3.4 billion to 3.5 billion years. Samples in Western Australia run 3.4 billion to 3.6 billion years old. Research groups in Australia found the oldest mineral grains on Earth. These tiny zirconium silicate crystal shave ages that reach 4.3 billion years, making them the oldest materials found on Earth so far. Their source rocks have not yet been found. The rocks and zircons set a lower limit on the age of Earth of 4.3 billion years, because the planet itself must be older than anything that lies on its surface. When life arose is still under debate, especially because some early fossils can appear as natural rock forms. Some of the earliest forms of life have been found in Western Australia, as announced in a 2018 study; the researchers found tiny filaments in 3.4-billion-year-old rocks that could be fossils. Other studies suggest that life originated even earlier. Hematite tubes in volcanic rock in Quebec could have included microbes between 3.77 and 4.29 billion years ago. Researchers looking at rocks in southwestern Greenland also saw cone-like structures that could have surrounded microbial colonies some 3.7 billion years ago. 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 about 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, doesn’t experience the resurfacing processes that occur across Earth’s landscape. As such, rocks from early lunar history still sit on the surface of the moon. Samples returned from the Apollo and Luna missions revealed ages between 4.4 billion and 4.5 billion years, helping to constrain the age of Earth. How the moon formed is a matter of debate; while the dominant theory suggests a Mars-size object crashed into Earth and the fragments eventually coalesced into the moon, other theories suggest that the moon formed before Earth. In addition to the large bodies of the solar system, scientists have studied smaller rocky visitors that have fallen 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. 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 4.5 billion years old, supporting other calculations of the date of early planetary formation. More than 70 meteorites that have fallen to Earth have had their ages calculated by radiometric dating. The oldest of these are between 4.4 billion and 4.5 billion years old. 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. The Canyon Diablo meteorite is important because it represents a class of meteorites with components that allow for more precise dating. In 1953, Clair Cameron Patterson, a renowned geochemist at the California Institute of Technology, measured ratios of lead isotopes in samples of the meteorite that put tight constraints on Earth’s age. Samples of the meteorite show a spread from 4.53 billion to 4.58 billion years. Scientists interpret this range as the time it took for the solar system to evolve, a gradual event that took place over approximately 50 million years. By using not only the rocks on Earth but also information gathered about the system that surrounds it, scientists have been able to place Earth’s age at approximately 4.54 billion years. For comparison, the Milky Way galaxy that contains the solar system is approximately 13.2 billion years old, while the universe itself has been dated to 13.8 billion years. Although the universe is thought to be about 13.77 billion years old, planet Earth is much younger than that. Current estimates put the age of Earth at around 4.54 billion years, give or take about 50 million years, and like all other bodies in the solar system, Earth formed when a cloud of dust and gas collapsed due to gravity. This means our sun, planets, asteroids and moons are also around the same age. To determine the age of Earth scientists today use a technique called radiometric dating. Ratios of different radioactive isotopes present in samples are measured to estimate its age. There are different kinds of radiometric dating that use different isotopes, including radiocarbon, lead-lead and uranium-lead dating. This technique was developed in the early 20th century and has since then has been constantly finetuned. Through this technique, meteorites – bits of rock that have broken off from asteroids or comets in space and fallen to Earth – can be dated. Since almost everything in our solar system formed around the same time, meteorites that reach Earth are, in all probability, the same age as our planet. In 1956, American geochemist Clair Cameron Patterson was the first to put forward an estimated age of Earth that is closest to today’s estimates. He used samples of the Canyon Diablo meteorite that landed about 50,000 years ago in what is now the US state of Arizona, and using lead-lead dating came up with an estimated age range of 4.53 billion to 4.58 billion years. Since then, other meteorites have also been used to find the age of Earth. They are better preserved than even the oldest rocks on Earth, which get broken down and built back up over time through the movement of plate tectonics. Therefore, measuring how old meteorites are is more reliable than measuring even Earth’s oldest rocks when predicting the age of this planet. Finding the age of different samples from different sources will get us closer to achieving a more accurate estimate for Earth’s age. Moon rocks brought back from the USA’s Apollo program and the Soviet Union’s Luna program during the 1970s have also been dated. The ages of different samples range from 3.16 to 4.44 billion years. China’s Chang’e 5 collected the most recent sample of moon rocks from a previously unexplored area of the moon in 2020, which might help us build an even clearer picture of how old Earth really is. The genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11 make it clear that Abraham lived about 2,000 years after the creation. And we know from chronologies found elsewhere in the Bible that Abraham lived about 2,000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we know that Jesus’ ministry was about 2,000 years ago. Summing these lengths of time, we get about 6,000 years (technically just a little more).

Multiple independent measurements have taken to find out the answer of How Old is the Earth? After years of research, it is estimated that Earth is 4.54 billion years old, and scientists do radiometrically dating of rocks to find out their ages. From the radiometric dates of rocks, they estimate the age of Earth.

Studies have shown that the Earth and the universe are billions of years old. Through research on annual layers in ice, geologists can easily count multiple tens of thousands of years. By using radiometric dating of rocks, some Earth rocks were billions of years old, but the oldest known rocks of the solar system are dated 4.5 billion years. Scientists use the distance and the speed of light to calculate the light has travel billions of years. That’s why the age of the universe is given by the expansion of the universe which is 13.8 billion years old as a whole.

Earth’s age through seasonal rings and layers

Trees form a new growth ring each year, and if you cut a tree trunk horizontally, you can see that. The size of these rings depends on the growth of the tree, if there are drought conditions and the tree’s growth is effected and rings will be narrower, and in good condition, seasonal rings can be thicker and wider. Scientists compare the pattern of the thickness of the ring and thin rings to weather records to verify the accuracy of the method. This method is also used on ■■■■ trees which are on the forest floor.

Super old rocks

How old is the Earth, how can we know with any degree of confidence? For this, we must find the oldest rock or piece of the earth if we can find it, then have to figure out how old is that piece. Finding super old rocks is a tough job and practically harsh, because of plate tectonics of the Earth, in which Earth recycle rocks and break and pour them down into magma just before pumping rocks back up to the surface. “Tiny piece of zircon which is in Western Australia is considered as the oldest rock”.

SUMMARY
Finding Earth’s age is a really big task for scientists but it is a very interesting and tantalizing question for everyone that How old is the Earth? For finding the answer to this question many techniques or methods are being used by scientists and geologists, radiometrically dating of rocks to analyzing annual rings and layers of trees. By using all these methods we found Tiny Zircon in Western Australia which is 4.4 billion years old.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

When did the Earth start?

The current layout of our solar system was settled about 4.5 billion years ago. The Earth is formed by the pull of solar dust and gas and making it the third planet from the Sun.

What is beneath the Earth?

The mantle is beneath the Earth, it is made up of three different sub-layers; which are the upper mantle, the transition zone, and the lower mantle. Talking about the thickness of these three sub-layers is 2,900 kilometers, and 84 percent of Earth’s volume is due to these.

Where does the Earth’s atmosphere end?

The enormous exosphere is the final layer of the atmosphere, which is above 10,000 km above the Earth’s surface. But the moon of our Earth is still far away like hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

Which is the oldest mountain range on the Earth?

Barberton Greenstone Belt is considered the oldest mountain range in the world, which is found in South Africa. Its age is almost 3.2 billion years.

Which is the deepest point on Earth?

Mariana Trench is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth; it is present in the western Pacific Ocean.