Top definition whale unknown noun; a wealthy patron to a casino, gets paid special attention by a casino host so the patron will feel comfortable to gamble more money.
The age of Earth is approximately one-third of the age of the universe. An immense amount of geological change has occurred in that timespan, accompanied by biological change. Earth formed around 4.54 billion years ago by accretion from the solar nebula. Volcanic outgassing probably created the primordial atmosphere and then the ocean; but the atmosphere contained almost no oxygen and so would have been toxic to most modern life including humans.
The first eon in Earth's history, the Hadean, begins with the Earth's formation and is followed by the Archean eon at 3.8 Ga. The oldest rocks found on Earth date to about 4.0 Ga, and the oldest detrital zircon crystals in rocks to about 4.4 Ga, soon after the formation of the Earth's crust and the Earth itself.