Early Formation of the Earth

By eve_m
  • 13,800 BCE

    The Big Bang

    The Big Bang caused quarks and electrons to be made. Quarks formed together to produce protons and neutrons, which then created the first elements, helium and hydrogen. Stars then used hydrogen and helium nuclei to form carbon and calcium.
  • 4600 BCE

    Planetary Accretion

    A star that was near a gas cloud exploded and sent a shockwave throughout the cloud. This caused most of the mass to form in the middle, creating the sun, and the sun had a protoplanetary disk around it. Within the first 100,000 years, the dust collides into each other and gradually forms clumps of matter. As 10 million years go by, the clumps of matter turn into planets.
  • 4500 BCE

    Formation of the Moon

    An asteroid the size of Mars hit Earth which caused parts of the asteroid and Earth to break off and started to orbit the Earth. The material then collided together to form the moon.
  • 4000 BCE

    End of Heavy Bombardment

    Jupiter and Saturn moved towards the inner planets and cleared some of the debris, and then moved back out. Some of the debris may have hit Earth, which could have caused it to have water.
  • 3000 BCE

    Earth Cools Down and Forms its Core

    The Earth forms its crust, trapping all the heat in its core. However, as the core is trying to escape, the land splits and forms tectonic plates. It also forms volcanoes.