Curtin University researchers have discovered the world's oldest known meteorite impact crater, which could significantly redefine our understanding of the origins of life and how our planet was shaped.

In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have identified the world's oldest known meteorite impact crater in Western

Led by Curtin University geologists Chris Kirkland and Tim Johnson, a research team unearthed this primeval crater beneath rock layers in the East Pilbara Terrane of Western Australia. The oldest Archaean crater before this discovery went back only 2.2 billion years.

We have discovered the oldest meteorite impact crater on Earth, in the very heart of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The crater formed more than 3.5 billion years ago, making it the oldest known by more than a billion years.

The discovery bolsters the theory that meteorite impacts played an important role in Earth's early geological history

Researchers found the world’s oldest impact crater in Western Australia. The crater was created by a massive meteorite impact.

World’s oldest impact crater found, rewriting Earth’s ancient history. Researchers from Curtin University found the granddaddy of all craters in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, clocking in at 3.5 billion years old. This meteorite smash, marked by funky "shatter cones," was a… pic.twitter.com/gM8FtszD4a

A rocky stretch in Western Australia's Pilbara, near Earth's earliest-confirmed lifeforms, was hit by a meteorite about 3.5 billion years ago.

Scientists published the discovery of a 3.5-billion-year-old meteorite impact crater, making it the oldest known by more than a billion years.

A Curtin University group has identified what may be Earth’s oldest meteorite strike in a remote part of Western Australia’s Pilbara region, near the North Pole Dome. Evidence in local rock indicates the collision happened around 3.