The History of Earth

By renee.kuo
  • Period: 4600 BCE to 4599 BCE

    Primary Accretion Stage

    Between 0 and 100,000 years after the solar system formed. Our cloud is flattened into a swirling disk and a protostar forms in the centre. Clumps of dust in the disk are heated into molten rock (chondrules), which clump together and grow into asteroids and planetesimals. The protostar undergoes fusion and becomes our sun.
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  • Period: 4600 BCE to 4600 BCE

    Solar System Begins

    In the beginning, our solar system was just a cloud of hydrogen, helium, and dust. A nearby star destroys itself (supernova) and the shock wave caused our cloud to collapse.
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  • Period: 4599 BCE to 4500 BCE

    Giant Impact Stage

    Between 10 million and 100 million years after the solar system began. This is the first part of the Hadean Eon. The planetesimals continue to grow and the moon also forms during this stage.
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  • Period: 4530 BCE to 4530 BCE

    Moon Forms

    An asteroid the size of Mars smashed into Earth. The impact melted both the Earth and the asteroid. Materials from both were thrown into orbit, and over time they collided and bonded to form the moon. The moon formed roughly 70 million years after Earth was formed.
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  • Period: 4500 BCE to 4000 BCE

    Late Accretion Stage

    This stage is between 100 million and 600 million years after the solar system formed. Pluto-like objects crashed into Earth and deposited metals.
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  • Period: 4500 BCE to 4500 BCE

    Earth's Core and Crust Forms

    Denser substances (e.g. iron) sank into the core of the Earth, while lighter substances (e.g. silicon) rose up into the crust. Volcanoes released gasses which eventually formed the atmosphere.
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  • Period: 4000 BCE to 3800 BCE

    Late Heavy Bombardment

    This stage is between 600 million and 800 million years after the solar system first formed. The gas giants Jupiter and Saturn migrated towards the Sun, clearing out many smaller rocks, and then migrated back out. During this time, comets carrying water may have also hit Earth.
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  • Period: 3800 BCE to 3800 BCE

    End of Heavy Bombardment

    The Heavy Bombardment stage, the last part of the Hadean Eon, ends.
  • Period: 3000 BCE to 3000 BCE

    Planetary Cooling

    This happened about 1.6 billion years after the solar system began. Earth gradually cooled down; heat allows the core to stay and creates the strong magnetic fields of the earth. As heat tried to escape, it broke up sections of the earth’s crust and created tectonic plates.
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