Birth of the Solar System

More than 10 billion years since the universe exploded into existence, the solar system--including the , the eight planets, their moons, and various -- forms from interstellar and .

ESCAPING GASES BUILD EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE

released from inside earth collected to form an atmosphere probably composed of , , , and ammonia, with little or no free

EARTH'S CORE FORMS

sinks deep inside Earth and form its . Lighter elements like , , and rise to the surface, and later harden to form the

GREAT OCEANS FORM

Water in the cooling atmosphere, and heavy pour down on the planet. After several years of falling rain, great form.

SMALL CONTINENTS FORM

As several chunks of land blocks collide, the earliest form.

CONTINENTS BEGIN SHIFTING

Driven by deep within the Earth, the continents' underlying begin to .

BANDED IRON FORMATIONS

formations are sedimentary rocks deposited on the ocean floor over hundred of of years. Their alternating rust-gray colored bands are evidence that is being produced in the oceans by bacteria.

HINT...to get the last blank click on the blue circle directly below called "bacteria" on land and read it.

1,800 mya: Oldest eukaryote fossils
Though eukaryotes are thought to have evolved much earlier, the oldest definitive fossils date to . Acritarchs are probably single-celled in a resting stage of their life cycle that have grown tough outer coats. They are spherical in shape and float at or near the surface of the .

1,200 mya: True algae
The oldest algae fossil dates to 1,200 mya. At this time, biological diversity increases greatly, with algae, , , and diverging from their common eukaryote ancestors.

900 mya: Soft-bodied animals
The oldest fossil evidence of multicellular animals, or metazoans, are burrows that suggest smooth, creatures live or more. Found in rocks in China, Canada, India, and elsewhere, the imprints of these creatures reveal little else besides their basic shapes.

RODINIA SUPERCONTINENT FORMS

The late-Precambrian supercontinent forms when smaller continents .

Major glaciation period begins(Snowball Earth)

The first of global ages sets in. While cold-loving microbes evolve and thrive in the frigid waters and snow, repeated factors heavily into future of other organisms.

BREAKUP OF RODINIA SUPERCONTINENT

As shift, the Rodinia supercontinent begins to apart into the smaller .

OZONE LAYERS IN PLACE

With the exception of bacteria, life on Earth has been restricted to the where the risk of exposure to is greatly reduced. But now, atmospheric levels are high enough to form a protective layer over the planet. This shield is a critical factor in the emergence and survival of life on