NASA´s Curiosity Team: Drilling Into Ancient Rock Beds on Mars

Encyclopaedia Britannica also states that it is “proved to be a versatile technique of dating fossils and archaeological specimens from 500 to 50,000 years old” (1998). This method of age determination is dependent upon the decay of nitrogen and radiocarbon (Carbon-14) (Encyclopaediea Britannica, 1998; Opinions of Radiocarbon Dating, 2011). Carbon-14 is continually formed in nature by the interaction of neutrons with nitrogen-14 in the Earth’s atmosphere (Encyclopaediea Britannica, 1998; Opinions of Radiocarbon Dating, 2011) and all living things exchange the gas carbon-14 with the atmosphere surrounding them. The amount of carbon-14 exchanged into the living organism is perfectly balanced with its surroundings, but when an organism dies, they stop taking in the gas and that equilibrium is damaged. Because Carbon-14 slowly decays at a known rate called its “half-life” in a dead organism, scientists can figure out how long ago it had stopped exchanging carbon with its atmosphere. Thus, its age can be determined by measuring the amount of Carbon-14 in a sample (Hirst, 2017; Opinions of Radiocarbon Dating, 2017; Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit Research Laboratory for Archaeology, n.d.; Earthsky, 2017; Cram, 1993). With the utilisation of Radiocarbon Dating, scientists have been able to discover that Lindow

Until the early 1900's, scientists used several methods of measurement in their efforts to determine the age of the Earth. They studied sedimentation and erosion, stratification (with fossil evidence), measured the salinity of the oceans, and used thermodynamics to determine loss of heat since the Earth's beginning. Each of these approaches yielded estimates that the Earth was anywhere from 24 to 100 million years old.

Scientist are able to use modern instruments to accurately date these rocks by measuring radioactive decay. These rocks are approximently 1.7 billion years old, less than half the age of the earth. These black rocks tell scientist not only how old they date back but

The second method, used by Donahue, Olin, and Harbottle in their testing of the Vinland Map is radiocarbon dating (Donahue, Olin, Harbottle, 2000). Radiocarbon dating is based on the decay of a specific carbon isotope known as 14C. All organisms contain 14C and once an organism dies, scientists are able to measure how much 14C has decayed in an organism. By measuring this rate of decay, scientists are able to date the age of an organism (Higham). Since the Vinland Map is drawn on

Dating the rocks of the Grand Canyon is a scientific way to find out the age of this mysterious landmark. The age of the Earth and the Grand Canyon is a question both of a biblical interpretation and scientific investigation. It can be viewed by an old earth creationist and young earth creationist. The two creationists have a difference of opinion concerning the formation and age of the Grand Canyon rocks.

The earth is known to be old, but what is the truth of how old is the earth. There is scientific evidence of how old it is, some would say it’s Billions of years and some would say Thousands of years old. There is a lot of factors like rocks layers, plants, animals, sun, moon and many more facts that can predict how many years has the earth been around. But to find the truth if it’s a Billions of years or Thousands of years we would have to compare the two and even look into scientist discovering facts. Or do we go off the what God has created and the Bibles authors?

Did you watch The Martian in the movie theaters? It’s hard to make the distinction between science fiction and reality. This paper is dedicated to describing the geology of Mars in reference to our own planet. How do the two planets relate? On a fun note, is there any point in going to Mars? In conclusion, with the power of research, this paper will unlock the mystery surrounded with the geology of Mars.

Before the discovery of radiometric methods to determine the age of the Earth, the first few attempts were off by thousands of millions

After the specific mineral elements in rock samples are determined, Curiosity grinds rock into fine powdery sample and pours it into a chemistry and mineralogy analyze system --- CheMin. CheMin then directs a beam of X-rays at the powder and the crystal structure of the minerals deflects it at a characteristic angle, which allows the scientists to distinguish the minerals being analyzed. CheMin provided the valuable information about the varieties of the minerals exists on Mars, as well as each mineral’s reserves. Analyzing each mineral on Mars allows scientists to find major leads of temperature, pressure and acidity of Mars’ environment during the time when these minerals were formed. Therefore, CheMin has the potential to reveal whether Gale Crater is a suitable place for life exists. (Anderson, 2010)

The data that it returned showed dry river beds and canyons which seemed to indicate that water had once existed on Mars surface. Scientists believed that many of Mars’s land forms had to have been created by running water. They thought that the water was underneath the surface but at the time they found nothing and the research was inconclusive. During the 90’s scientist became fascinated with the red planet. They mapped and analyzed all they could. What each of them found was that there was plenty of ice and evidence that running water had once been on the planet along with hot springs. They even found minerals in rocks that suggested the presence of water as

They were able to learn about dinosaurs and how old they were and when they were discovered by radioactive dating. Radioactive dating allows scientist to record things in the past. In order to do this, they have to use the ratios of isotopes to determine the age of the rocks and fossils. Some chemicals that they use in radioactive dating are Carbon, uranium and potassium. Each one of these elements are made up of atoms. In each atom, there is a nucleus. Inside of that, we find a neutron, and when they become unstable, they let go of energy. When they let go of this energy, it is called radioactivity. It occurs when the nucleus has an excessive amount of neutrons. The variation of neutrons are called isotopes. Isotopes are a form of an element that are unstable. When going through radioactivity, the unstable isotopes break down and form a new element. The isotopes are never destroyed but they turn into something else. As far as the accuracy goes, people are proven to believe that this is a very accurate method. They say this because radioactive dating is based on radioactive decay of unstable isotopes. They have ways of proving that this method is in fact correct and very accurate. They say that radioactive

This method is used to determine the exact age of fossils, artifacts and the earth. This involves, examining several strata of the crust of the earth to show the time intervals of one layer of rock to another layer as well as use the layering principle to confirm the series of cultures.

surface of Mars. These were disproved as tricks of the eye. Spacecraft in the 1960’s

When we think of history, we think of important people, places, cultures, events, and much more. The backbone of history rests on its chronology. It gives us the "when" of basic analysis. It gives us a frame of reference, the order of things. Before having an "absolute" way of determining dates, history was based in guesses and assumptions. Many attempts were made to organize the dates of the past. Some of these attempts were made by geologist. Geologist used the idea of "stratigraphic succession" (Renfrew, 1973) which is based on the "principle that when successive layers or strata are observed in position, the underlying ones are the earliest." (Pg. 23 Renfrew, 1973) By setting the layers in

Other samples of the clay were taken to laboratories to be analyzed. Part of the results showed a large concentration of platinum and iridium. These elements are very rare on the surface of the earth at the moment but they are present in meteoric dust that rains down from space at a known rate. That rate allowed for a measurement of how long it took for the clay to form.