How and When Earth was Formed

  • 10,000 BCE

    Big Bang

    The Big Bang rose quarks and electrons.
    Quarks aggregated and produced protons and neutrons, which combined into nuclei.
    The first atoms to form were hydrogen and helium. Stars fused hydrogen and helium nuclei to form elements like carbon who form life and calcium that form bones. Supernova explosions that also happened in this period formed iron.
  • 1 CE

    Sun is Born

    A star nearby exploded and cause a gas cloud to collapse. In the center, there is a dense clutch, and that became the sun. Other smaller dense areas around it formed a proto-planetary disk.
  • 10

    Primary Accretion Stage

    Between the start of this to 100,000 years later, dust collided and created clumps. At the end of this period, kilometer-sized rock were accreted and are continuing to grow.
    100,000-10 million years: Inner part of the solar system started to have rocky planetesimals.
    Planets on the outer part of the solar system are much larger. This is because it is colder out there, and the clumps will attach more easily when they hit each other.
  • 100

    Giant Impact Stage

    10-100 million years: Larger objects started to collide, and the planetesimals are forming into larger planets.
    -Around 60 million years: Moon was formed.
    Current theory for that: An object the size of mars collided into Earth, creating some debris from the Earth, and this hot molten goop orbits around Earth and cools into moon.
  • 700

    Late Accretion Stage

    Planets crashes into Earth, and deposit metals that sink towards the center of the Earth. If something hits the Earth in the period, metal can be deposited from the surface of the planet, and these are the metals we discover today.
  • 800

    Late Heavy Bombardment

    Jupiter and Saturn moved to the inner parts of the solar system and cleared many of the rocks and moved out.
    Theory: Something carrying water hit the Earth at this period and left water on the Earth.
  • Earth Cools and Features Form

    Heat inside the Earth tries to escape, and the extra radioactive elements heat it even more. This heat allows Earth to spin and form magnetic fields.
  • Earth Forms

    Earth cools down and the volcanoes started to release gases. These gases eventually formed the atmosphere.
    ***The early atmosphere contained ammonia, methane, carbon, water vapor, and a little bit of oxygen.
  • Oceans Formed on Earth

    The atmosphere became dense. Clouds formed and rain fell. Astroids and comets struck and the oceans formed.