The oldest material on Earth which has yet been dated by man is a zircon mineral of 4.4 billion years old from a sedimentary gneiss in the Jack Hills of the Narre Gneiss Terrane of Australia. It is the most ancient fragment of the earth's crust so far identified, formed approximately 150 million years after the planet itself. In August of 2007, scientists reported finding the world's oldest diamond crystals, encased inside the zircon crystals. The image was acquired October 12, 2004, covers a...