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With the help of a powerful new technique, researchers have been able to certify that some tiny crystals found in Western Australia are the oldest known materials formed on Earth.

In 2001, when scientists said one of zircon crystals was about 4.4 billion years old, none believed it. 

"There have been challenges, because nothing in science goes without being questioned. It always has to be proven," said John Valley, a geochemist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, according to NPR.

According to researchers, the crystals formed tens of millions of years after an early proto-Earth was melted due to collision with a huge Mars-size object. Moon was formed as a result of the crash and Earth turned into a red ball of molten rock.

"It would have glowed almost like a star. Nothing could exist on the surface. There would be no continental land masses. There'd be no liquid water. And there certainly would have been no life at that time," said Valley.

Researchers said the crystals identified are so tiny that cannot be seen without a magnifying glass. They said some had jagged edges who look like smooth jellybeans.

"It's always blown my mind," added Valley. "I mean, to collect samples that were on a beach 3 billion years ago - and to find crystals that were more than a billion years older even than the beach - is just really surprising and wonderful."

Other experts are said it was hard to argue with the new study. 

"I think people will be impressed with the technique and impressed with the conclusions and agree with them," said Sam Bowring, a geologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to NPR.

"I think people will be impressed with the technique and impressed with the conclusions and agree with them. I think that really is profound, if you think about it," he says. "Now we're talking about a history on this planet that goes back to almost the day that the planet was born," he added.

The study is published in the journal Nature Geoscience.