{"synopsis":"How old is Earth? For much of human history, people had no way of knowing. But a few centuries ago, scientists started to realize that the key to solving the mystery of Earth's age is right beneath our feet! It started with using rock layers, or strata, to put together a timeline of Earth\u2019s history. Scientist Nicolaus Steno\u2019s principle of superposition showed that younger strata always form on top of older ones. This simple idea helps you determine which layers are older based on their positions, a method known as relative dating. Geologist James Hutton took the next step by estimating that each layer took thousands of years to form\u2014which meant Earth must be much older than anyone realized at the time. Then came geologist William Smith, who used fossils to match up, or correlate, strata around the world. Finally, the invention of radiometric dating made it possible to determine rocks' absolute age, in years. 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