The earth has only very recently been accurately dated. Until astonishingly recently, the earth was thought to be anywhere between a few hundred thousand and a few million years old. Now it is thought that the Earth is 4.6 billion years old, and was formed by interstellar dust coming together and being attracted to an increasingly strong gravitational force. Incidentally, life is thought to have arisen relatively early in the earth’s existence – just 3.5 – 4 billion years ago!