Some of the oldest rocks on Earth are Down Under – no digging necessary. ⛏️ The Pilbara in northwestern Australia displays rocks over 3.6 billion years old. The iron-rich rocks formed before the presence of atmospheric oxygen – and life itself. Found upon these rocks are 3.45-billion-year-old fossil stromatolites, colonies of microbial cyanobacteria. This image is a composite of ASTER, a cooperative effort between NASAJPL and Japan's Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI), with the collaboration of scientific and industry organizations in both countries. ASTER captures high spatial resolution data in 14 bands, from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelengths, and provides stereo viewing capability for digital elevation model creation. The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. This image covers an area ...