"The oldest material on Earth has been
found in a meteorite":
Fifty
years ago, a meteorite fell to Earth and landed in Australia, carrying
with it a rare sample from interstellar space. A new analysis of the
meteorite revealed stardust that formed between five to seven billion
years ago. That makes the meteorite and its stardust the oldest solid
material ever discovered on Earth.
Our
sun is around 4.6 billion years old, meaning this stardust existed long
before our sun or solar system were even a reality. The stardust found
on the meteorite are called presolar grains because they formed before
our sun.