This image shows the San Andreas fault in southern California, a well-known boundary between two of Earth's lithospheric plates: the Pacific and North American plates.
c. 4-3 Billion BCE: The Rise of Plate Tectonics – Shaping Earth’s Landscape

Examines the emergence of plate tectonics during the Hadean and Archean eons, detailing the transformation of Earth's crust and mantle, the formation of continents, and the division of the lithosphere and asthenosphere, leading to the [...]

This artist's conception illustrates the Archean Earth, a period characterized by stable liquid water, abundant heat and energy, and a growing accumulation of organic molecules, creating a fertile environment for the emergence of life.
c. 4–2.5 Billion BCE: The Archean Eon – Earth’s Dramatic Evolution

Explores the Archean Eon, a period marked by the formation of Earth's earliest continental crust and significant atmospheric changes. It highlights the rise of cyanobacteria and the onset of photosynthesis, setting the stage for more [...]

This artist's concept illustrates Earth at the transition from the Hadean to the Archean eon, depicting the time when liquid-water seas and oceans first stabilized on the surface. The image also shows large impact basins, similar to those on the Moon, indicating ongoing bombardment by asteroids and comets.
c. 4 Billion BCE: The Genesis of Earth’s Oceans – From the Hadean Eon to the Present

Explores the formation of Earth's oceans, tracing back to the Hadean eon's volcanic eruptions and gas emissions. It discusses how water transitioned from steam to liquid, the potential internal and external sources of water, and [...]

This image shows fractured and metamorphosed remains of ancient continental crust along the eastern shores of Hudson Bay, in the Canadian craton. These rocks originated from the remelting of basaltic rocks that first erupted during the Hadean era.
c. 4.5 Billion BCE: The Formation of Continental Crust – A Geological Journey

Explores the transformation from mafic basalts to felsic rocks in the Earth's crust, guided by Norman L. Bowen's 1928 discovery of Bowen's Reaction Series. It explains how this process led to the formation of Earth's [...]

This image of the Orientale Basin on the Moon, spanning 578 miles (930 km), illustrates evidence of intense planetary bombardment occurring 400 to 700 million years after Earth's formation. The color variations indicate areas of lower (blue) and higher (red) gravity within the basin.
c. 4.1 Billion BCE: Unraveling the Late Heavy Bombardment’s Mysteries

Delves into the Late Heavy Bombardment, a period when the solar system experienced intense asteroid and comet impacts. It highlights how lunar research, particularly from Apollo mission samples, offers insights into this chaotic era, suggesting [...]

An artist's depiction of the Hadean Earth, with the Moon appearing significantly larger in the sky due to its closer proximity to our planet at that time.
c. 4.5-4 Billion BCE: Exploring the Hadean Eon – Earth’s Earliest and Most Volatile Era

Provides a vivid portrayal of the Hadean eon, a time of intense volcanic and impact activity that shaped the early Earth, and highlights how extraterrestrial bodies help us understand this barely recognizable era.

c. 4.5-4 Billion BCE: Unlocking the Secrets of Earth’s Primordial Magma Ocean and Mantle Dynamics

Delves into the scorching conditions of early Earth, proposing a once-molten mantle that shaped our planet's interior structure and created a dynamic, volcanic world unsuitable for life.

c. 4.5 Billion BCE: Unraveling the Mystery – The Fascinating Origin of the Moon

Explores the intriguing theories and eventual scientific consensus on the Moon's origin, highlighting the giant impact hypothesis as the most compelling explanation supported by lunar data.

c. 4.54 Billion BCE: The Formation of Earth’s Core – A Journey Through Early Solar System Chaos

Explores the early history of the solar system and the formation of Earth's core. It discusses the process of accretion and differentiation that led to the creation of Earth's core, mantle, and crust structure, and [...]

c. 4.54 Billion BCE: The Birth of Earth – A Journey Through Time and Space

Delves into Earth's formation approximately 4.54 billion years ago and its unique characteristics as a geological, atmospheric, and biological entity. It explores Earth's dynamic structure, life-supporting conditions, and the ongoing quest to find other habitable [...]