New research suggests that the very oldest minerals on Earth, zircon crystals, are likely to have formed in the craters left by violent asteroid impacts that peppered our nascent planet, rather than via plate tectonics as was previously believed.

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New research suggests that the very oldest minerals on Earth, zircon crystals, are likely to have formed in the craters left by violent asteroid impacts that peppered our nascent planet, rather than via plate tectonics as was previously believed.