There's a billion-year gap in Earth's geological history. A new study seeks to explain the mystery.

New research sheds light on the earliest days of the earth's formation and potentially calls into question some earlier assumptions in planetary science about the early years of rocky planets.

Professor Loren E. Babcock examines the key processes of fossilization in paleontology, highlighting the critical role of ...

Picture all of Earth’s oceans, which cover about 70% of the planet and are mostly made of hydrogen. Now multiply that by nine. That may be the amount of hydrogen in Earth’s core, possibly making it ...

Old crystals found in Western Australia are drawing fresh attention from geologists studying the formation of Earth. These minerals, called zircons, have been dated to be older than four billion years ...

There are many open questions about how our planet formed 4.55 billion years ago: When did plate tectonics start? When did the Earth's mantle begin to vigorously circulate in a process called ...

Houchin and his colleagues studied dozens of zircon crystals from the Jack Hills in Western Australia. These are the oldest ...

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to ...

Our planet plunged into one of the most dramatic climate states in its long history, approximately 720–635 million years ago.

A layer of rock just 520 million years old sat directly on top of ancient rock dating back 1.4 to 1.8 billion years.