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April 10, 2005
Public see oldest known piece of Earth
By
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Public see oldest known piece of Earth |
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For the first time ever, the public will have a chance to see a tiny, barely visible speck of zircon crystal, which is believed to be the oldest known piece of Earth. The viewing will take place Saturday at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where researchers in 2001 made the break through discovery that the early Earth was much cooler than previously believed based on analysis of the crystal. Fans could use a microscope to check out the 4.4 billion year old tiny grain, which measures less than two human hairs in diameter.
The sample eventually will be put on display at a natural history museum in Australia. The zircon, was found in Australia in 2001. Analytical work by geophysicist Professor John Valley at the university in Madison, Wisconsin, showed the crystal could only have formed in a low-temperature environment.
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