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The Big Bang

January 1, 12:00 AM

Will we ever really know the exact age of the universe? Its estimated between 10 billion and 20 billion years old, but the current accepted value is:

The Big Bang

The Big Bang Theory is the broadly accepted theory of the origin and evolution of our universe. It states that our universe started from an instantaneously expanding point and developed into what we see today.

The First Atoms FormThe universe cooled to 6000 K which was cool enough for the nuclei that formed 3 minutes after the Big Bang to capture the electrons that were zooming around space and form the first atoms. Hydrogen, since it is the simplest, was the most abundant element formed.

The First Atoms Form

January 8, 11:50 PM

Formation of the First StarsOver time, gravity pulled together numerous atoms. As the pressure increased, the temperature increased and these balls of gas began to glow. Finally under these extreme conditions, nuclear fusion began in the core…fusing hydrogen into helium… the first stars are born.

Formation of the First Stars

January 27, 3:25 PM

Formation of the First Galaxies Huge clouds of gas,

already with stars forming inside, began to rotate. As it rotates, the gas cloud flattens out, leaving behind the already formed stars, the halo stars. New star formation continues as the classic spiral galaxy begins to take shape.

Formation of the First Galaxies

January 28, 11:24 PM

Formation of the SunA large dust and gas cloud created when an older star died, began to collapse, rotate, and flatten out due to gravity. Most of the mass collected in the center, forming the Sun, while the rest formed pockets of mass on the ecliptic plain eventually forming the planets and all other solar system debris.

Formation of the Sun

August 31, 10:42 AM

Formation of the EarthThe Earth was entirely molten and under constant bombardment from smaller planetesimals. This accretion built up the Earth’s mass and gravity pulled it into a sphere with the more dense metals sinking to the core and the less dense rock displaced to the surface.

Formation of the Earth

September 2, 1:04 AM

Formation of the MoonThe Giant Impact Theory is the broadly accepted theory of the origin of the Moon. It states that as a large object collided with Earth, millions of tons of debris were thrown up into orbit around Earth. Eventually the debris clumped back together forming the Moon. The Moon was much closer to Earth. It is moving away at a rate of about 4 cm a year.

Formation of the Moon

September 5, 6:35 PM

Earth’s Crust Solidifies Oceans Form The molten Earth begins to cool on

the surface allowing solid rock to form. Water, from comets and outgassing deep within the Earth, was kept as a gas in the atmosphere due to the extreme temperatures of the Earth’s surface. But once the temperature dropped below 100ºC, water vapor condensed into rain and collected in low lying areas which gradually became the primitive oceans.

Earth’s Crust Solidifies Oceans Form


First Prokaryotic Organisms

The first life on Earth. No one knows exactly how it happened. Theories suggest that conditions on the primitive Earth (enormous tides, bubbling hot springs, violent lightening storms) may have favored chemical reactions that synthesized some organic compounds from inorganic precursors.

First Prokaryotic Organisms


Organisms Begin Photosynthesis

Still prokaryotic, blue-green algae begin the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis will increase the concentration of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Organisms Begin Photosynthesis

October 13, 1:46 AM

First Eukaryotic OrganismsThe first eukaryotes were single celled organisms belonging to the kingdom Protista. The eukaryotic cells contain a nucleus and other organelles, such as chloroplasts and mitochondria, allowing them to perform more functions and making them more complex than the simple prokaryotic organisms. These organisms eventually evolved into multi-cellular creatures.

First Eukaryotic Organisms

November 14, 1:04 PM

First Life on Land

A waxy coated algae first spread over the land to be the first land plant. Then, about 15 million years later, millipedes became the first land animals.

First Life on Land

December 17, 2:43 PM

First Fish

The fish are the first vertebrates, the first animals to have a backbone. When fish first started to develop, they had no jaws and their support structures were made of cartilage. They later developed jaws, gills and paired fins but were still confined to the water.

First Fish


First Seed Bearing PlantsThe first seed plants were the Gymnosperms, which include the pine and giant redwood trees of today. Seed-bearing plants produce pollen decreasing their dependency on water to reproduce and could then spread into environments not suited to the earliest plants. The casing keeps the seeds from drying out and protects the nutrients, allowing seeds to lie dormant through harsh conditions.

First Seed Bearing Plants

December 22, 9:49 AM

First Amphibians

Competition in the oceans made amphibians the first land vertebrates. They developed lungs to breathe oxygen outside of water and limbs adapted to gravity and provide movement on land. However, they remained dependent on water since their eggs and skin must remain moist.

First Amphibians


First Reptiles

Reptiles were the first vertebrates to have the ability to colonize dry habitats. They developed several water retaining adaptations such as scaly, leathery skin, the terrestrial, amniotic egg, and internal fertilization thus decreasing their dependency on water.

First Reptiles


PangaeaPangaea was the name of the “supercontinent” when all the land continents were together as one. Since then, the continents have spread apart. The plate movement is due to convection in the semi-solid rock mantle in the layer below. The plates are still moving today, they’re just moving really slowly.

Pangaea


Permian Mass Extinction

The largest mass extinction known in the history of the Earth. 95% of all marine species and 60% of all land animals go extinct. The cause is still unknown.

Permian Mass Extinction


The First Dinosaurs

Environmental conditions changed favoring the reptiles resulting in adaptive radiation – a population explosion of the species we now refer to as the dinosaurs… the “terrible lizards”.

The First Dinosaurs


First Mammals The first mammals were small, shrew-like vertebrates. They developed mammary glands and hair or fur. Mammals were also the first warm blooded creatures and most are capable of live birth. Mammals were not favored until the extinction of the dinosaurs allowed them the opportunity to flourish.

First Mammals


First Birds

The Archaeopteryx is the first known bird displaying characteristics of both reptiles and modern birds. Birds are warm blooded have limbs modified into wings, toothless beaks, and lay amniotic eggs. All birds have feathers and hollow bones. Many birds also have adaptations for flight.

First Birds


Flowering plants, also called angiosperms, were the first plants to produce flowers. The flowers attract insects and other organisms, leading to pollination and development of fruit-encased seeds. Much of our current food supply — fruit, vegetables, wheat, rice — comes from angiosperms.

First Flowering Plants

First Flowering Plants


The rings of Saturn are made of centimeter to meter-sized particles of ice and dust. The rings are possible debris that never formed into a moon, a moon that came inside the planet’s Roche limit and was torn apart by tidal forces, or the result of a collision between moons and/or comets. The age of the rings is based on the rate at which the rings are spreading.

Formation of Saturn’s Rings

Formation of Saturn’s Rings


The Chicxulub ImpactThe Chicxulub crater was discovered in the late 1970’s near the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The crater, measuring 110 miles across, is thought to be the impact site of a large comet or meteorite that caused the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.

The Chicxulub Impact


The Last Magnetic Pole Reversal Every few hundred thousand

years, the Earth flips its magnetic field (i.e. the north and south magnetic poles are reversed). Evidence of these reversals is found in the orientation of magnetic material in solidified magma; particularly in the mid-Atlantic ridge.

The Last Magnetic Pole Reversal


First Homo sapiens

The emergence of our species –the most complex hominid to date.

First Homo sapiens


First Civilization

Early humans were nomadic hunter gatherers. It wasn’t until Mesopotamia, near present day Iraq, that humans settled down in one area making giant leaps forward in agriculture.

First Civilization

December 31, 11:59:27 PM

33 seconds until midnight!

The Last Major Ice AgeThere have been at least four major ice ages in the history of the Earth. The causes are widely debated; ranging from greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere to sunspot activity to orbital position to meteorite impacts to volcanic activity. Many experts believe the Earth’s elevated temperatures recently stems from the fact that the Earth is still warming up from this last ice age.

The Last Major Ice Age

December 31, 11:59:32 PM

28 seconds until midnight!

Humans Land on the Moon

Humans Land on the Moon

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon as the Americans beat the Russians in the space race.

December 31, 11:59:59.906 PM

Hey… this isn’t in a Hollywood studio. America put a man on the Moon. The year was 1969. How long ago was that???

0.094 seconds until midnight!

You Were Born

Happy Birthday!

You Were Born

December 31, 11:59:59.961 PM

On our scale, your whole life up to this point has occurred in 0.039 seconds!

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Documents

atoms formthe universe

big bangthe big bang

big bangjanuary

numerous atoms

atoms formjanuary

accepted theory

corefusing hydrogen

current accepted value