Parts of ancient Earth may have formed continents and recycled crust through subduction far earlier than previously thought.

Earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago, during the geological eon known as the Hadean. The name “Hadean” comes from the Greek god of the underworld, reflecting the extreme heat that likely ...

The chemical composition of ancient crystals now found in Australian rocks bolsters the notion that tectonic plates may have jostled across Earth’s surface more than 4 billion years ago. Scientists ...

During the Hadean eon, Earth was a world of constant impacts, molten rock, and a toxic atmosphere. The surface was repeatedly melted by asteroid strikes while intense heat escaped from the planet’s ...

The oldest crystals formed on Earth contain signs that continents existed during the Hadean Eon and were being subducted into the mantle more than 4 billion years ago. If true, this would not only ...

A 500-million-year long storm of asteroids pummeled the infant Earth soon after it was formed, scientists believe. The smaller asteroids were the length of 15 football fields. The big ones were the ...

Washington, D.C.— Life originated as a result of natural processes that exploited early Earth's raw materials. Scientific models of life's origins almost always look to minerals for such essential ...