Astronomers Find Oldest Known Asteroids

Researchers from the University of Maryland have recently discovered three asteroids that appear to be roughly 4.55 billion years old, dating back to the formation of the Solar System. The scientists say that the asteroids have survived relatively unchanged since that time, and make good candidates for future space missions. "'The fall of the Allende meteorite in 1969 initiated a revolution in the study of the early Solar System,' said Tim McCoy, curator of the national meteorite collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. 'I find it amazing that it took us nearly 40 years to collect spectra of these [CAI-rich] objects and that those spectra would now initiate another revolution, pointing us to the asteroids that record this earliest stage in the history of our Solar System.'"

So its the same age as Precambrian Rock!

[Zymergy]

If I remember Geology 101, that would place the Asteroid in the Precambrian time frame (if it were found on earth or if suspected it was originally sourced from earth material.)
http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precambrian [wikipedia.org]

I am guessing that most of the rocky Asteroids are from the same formation time period. I had thought the Earth was mostly still being formed by asteroids and comets prior to 4.5 billion years ago? It is likely to be a part of the Earth from ~4.5 Billion years ago when the Moon is said to have formed via the giant impact hypothesis by planetoid Theia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theia_(planet) [wikipedia.org]

Re:Wow that's almost 6000 biblical years!

[jav1231]

It's funny that you would make this joke because many in the scientific community put the same kind of "faith" in researchers that haven't even so much as touched these objects. It always amazes me that when science has to change it's findings on anything it's reported with hardly a whisper. This finding is based largely on the assumption that these calcium deposits or strata are going to occur only in this manner from a given time-period. Assumptions...almost...religious-like.

I know I know, I'm daring to distrust the gods of research. I get it. Flamebait me now for my insurrection.

Re:Wow that's almost 6000 biblical years!

[Cruciform]

There are many examples of animals which could not have developed gradually through evolution without dying off because without all their current physical properties the animals would not survive for evolution to try again.

Name one. That's all I want to see. One single creature that you claim wouldn't have survived to reproduce to its current state.

I would also like to see a citation for the Great Flood claims made above as well. I've never seen a geologist claim there was one, though I've seen them talk about substantial flooding in the areas surrounding Mesopotamia. The only person I know personally that believes in a great flood is also rigid in his belief that the earth is 6000 years old and dinosaurs are a trick played on us by God. If he used any reference other than the bible or Kent Hovind I might give his claims some consideration, but alas that isn't the case.