Pilbara Craton

Plate tectonics may have its origins in impacts, based on new data from Australia.

Earth is the only planet known to have continents, although how they formed and evolved is unclear.

Our Earth is around 4.5 billion years old. Way back in its earliest years, vast oceans dominated. There were frequent volcanic eruptions and, because there was no free oxygen in the atmosphere, there was no ozone layer. It was a dynamic and evolving planet.

Asteroid collisions aren't always bad.

Cratons are pieces of ancient continents that formed several billions of years ago. Their study provides a window as to how processes within and on the surface of Earth operated in the past. Cratons preserve relics of our young Earth as they host a variety of rock assemblages such as greenstones and granites. Greenstones are rock assemblages that are primarily composed of sub-marine volcanic rocks with minor…

Geologists have discovered the earliest evidence of a meteoroid collision with Earth: tiny fragments of melted rock that showered down on our planet 3.48 billion years ago.

3.48 billion-year-old rock fragments were unearthed.

Researchers in Australia have discovered a new record holder for the oldest impact crater on Earth yet known. The impact dates back some 3.5 billion years. The post New record for oldest impact crater on Earth first appeared on EarthSky.

A team of geologists from Curtin University has discovered unequivocal evidence for a hypervelocity meteorite impact 3.47 billion years ago (Archean Eon) in the center of the Pilbara region in Western Australia.

Geologists have discovered the earliest evidence of a meteor collision with Earth: tiny fragments of melted rock that showered down on our planet 3.48 billion years ago.

New research analyzing pieces of the most ancient rocks on the planet adds some of the sharpest evidence yet that Earth's crust was pushing and pulling in a manner similar to modern plate tectonics at least 3.25 billion years ago. The study also provides the earliest proof of when the planet's magnetic north and south poles swapped places.

The Earth's tectonic plates are known for its old age, and Harvard proves it to the world.

Scientists studying ancient minerals in Western Australia found tantalizing clues suggesting the giant impact hypothesis might be right.

The most ancient evidence of life on our planet dates back roughly 3.5 billion years ago.

Biology may have begun with a bang.

Huge iron ore deposits in Western Australia's Hamersley Province formed when major tectonic events led to the breakup of supercontinent Columbia and to the amalgamation of Australia.

A chunk of Western Australia once raced across the globe at over 64 cm a year.

Scientists studying the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia have found evidence that the continents got their start from giant meteorite impacts. The post Did giant meteorite impacts create the continents? first appeared on EarthSky.

Earth is the only planet we know of with continents, the giant landmasses that provide homes to humankind and most of Earth's biomass.

New research has found evidence that Earth's early continents resulted from being hit by comets as our Solar System passed into and out of the spiral arms of the Milky Way Galaxy, turning traditional thinking about our planet's formation on its head.