(The date is somewhat controversial, with some scientists believing 3.8 billion years is a closer date for those rocks.) Meanwhile, the oldest mineral grains found on Earth, zircons from Western Australia, date back 4.36 billion years. The best estimate for the age of the oldest rocks on Earth, found near Hudson Bay in Quebec, is 4.4 billion years, according to Carlson. Because these objects all formed from the same pool of cosmic dust and gas during the birth of the solar system, the measurements enable researchers to determine how long ago the objects separated from that common pool.Īs it turns out, these numbers mesh quite nicely with the ages of the oldest rocks known on Earth, which would have formed after the planet stabilized and cooled. They measure the ratios of different types of isotopes from Earth and from meteorites. For the purposes of dating the solar system, researchers use lead and uranium isotopes. ![]() This age range is calculated using isotopes, or variants of chemical elements. Scientists, on the other hand, have reached a surprisingly precise answer as to the age when Earth and the rest of the solar system began to solidify: between 4.567 and 4.568 billion years - the equivalent of knowing a person's birthday within two days, Carlson said. Other estimates differ based on the use of different Bible translations and whether biblical scholars take the Bible's six-day creation period literally or assume the "days" to be longer periods of time. Ussher, whose position as Archbishop of Armagh made him head of the church in Ireland, published two works in the 1650s using genealogies from the Bible to date the creation of the world to Oct. The most popular 6,000-year-old figure comes from James Ussher, a 16th-century Irish clergyman. ![]() (It's not clear why Broun believes in a 9,000-year-old Earth.) That survey did not ask adults how old they believed Earth to be, but estimates based on literal interpretation of the Bible normally range from 6,000 to 8,000 years. Only 15 percent said they believed in evolution without God's hand, while 32 percent said they believed in evolution guided by God. According to a Gallup poll conducted in June, 46 percent of Americans believe God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years, a creationist belief. Broun is far from the only believer in a literal, or Biblical, creation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |