This is a question the exact answer of which may never be known for certain. Human beings have questioned the age of the Earth since ancient times. Although there were many myths and tales surrounding the issue, these were not scientifically based.
For the past 400 or so years, scientists have now started to respond to this inquiry in a scientific way. As soon as one knew that the Earth orbits the Sun (and forms part of the solar system), efforts have been made to put an approximation to the Earth’s age together through observation and inference.
To find out how old Earth is, scientists began to research the creation of Earth, the solar system, and even the formation of the Sun and stars. They began with the fundamental question: When did the Sun and planets such as Earth first appear?
One theory states that the solar system originated from a giant nebula of gases. Because of gravity, part of this cloud started condensing, gradually decreasing and warming up, and eventually becoming the Sun. The remaining matter outside the Sun began bumping into each other and merging to create planets. As these particles continued to bump into one another and merge over millions of years, they gradually became Earth and other planets. Earth reached its orbit and started orbiting around the Sun.
As per the astronomers, it is believed to have occurred about 5.5 billion years ago. Thus, the Earth would be about 5.5 billion years old.
🧭 ExploreX Insight
This short article is part of our ExploreX series, your quick, encyclopedia-style dose of knowledge. Just enough to spark curiosity, and short enough to read in under a minute. 🚀
ExploreX by M31GlobalNews
