Geological history of Earth
Videos
The geological history of Earth follows the major geological events in Earth's past based on the geologic time scale, a system of chronological measurement based on the study of the planet's rock laye
Artist's conception of a protoplanetary disc
Artist's rendition of a fully-frozen Snowball Earth with no remaining liquid surface water
History of Earth
Videos
The natural history of Earth concerns the development of planet Earth from its formation to the present day. Nearly all branches of natural science have contributed to the understanding of the main ev
Geological history of Earth
…Hadean time (4.6–4 Ga), the Solar System was forming, probably within a large cloud of gas and dust around the Sun, called an accretion disc from which Earth formed 4,500 million years ago. The Hadean Eon is not formally recognized, but it essentially marks the era before we have adequate record of significant solid…
An artist's rendering of a protoplanetary disk
Artist's conception of Hadean Eon Earth, when it was much hotter and inhospitable to all forms of life.
Artist's impression of the enormous collision that probably formed the Moon
The pale orange dot, an artist's impression of the early Earth which might have appeared orange through its hazy methane rich prebiotic second atmosphere. Earth's atmosphere at this stage was somewhat comparable to today's atmosphere of Titan.