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The first eon in Earth's history, the Hadean, begins with the Earth's formation and is followed by the Archean eon at 3.8 Ga. [2]: 145 The oldest rocks found on Earth date to about 4.0 Ga, and the oldest detrital zircon crystals in rocks to about 4.4 Ga, [34] [35] [36] soon after the formation of the Earth's crust and the Earth itself.
Initially, Earth was molten due to extreme volcanism and frequent collisions with other bodies. Eventually, the outer layer of the planet cooled to form a solid crust when water began accumulating in the atmosphere. The Moon formed soon afterwards, possibly as a result of the impact of a planetoid with the Earth.
How the Earth Was Made is a documentary television series produced by Pioneer Productions for the History Channel.It began as a two-hour special exploring the geological history of Earth, airing on December 16, 2007.
Before it split into the continents we know today, Earth was home to just a single landmass, or "supercontinent," called Pangea. Over tens of millions of years, as the familiar story goes, these ...
Due to the strength of Christian beliefs during the 17th century, the theory of the origin of the Earth that was most widely accepted was A New Theory of the Earth published in 1696, by William Whiston. [9] Whiston used Christian reasoning to "prove" that the Great Flood had occurred and that the flood had formed the rock strata of the Earth.
Earth's atmosphere and oceans were formed by volcanic activity and outgassing. [43] Water vapor from these sources condensed into the oceans, augmented by water and ice from asteroids, protoplanets, and comets. [44] Sufficient water to fill the oceans may have been on Earth since it formed. [45]
The creation of the Earth-Moon system is a drama tailor-made for Hollywood. Two newly formed planetary siblings, sharing the same solar orbit in harmony, suddenly crash together due to ...
According to evidence from radiometric dating and other sources, Earth formed about 4.54 billion years ago. [7] [8] [9] The current dominant theory of planet formation suggests that planets such as Earth form in about 50 to 100 million years but more recently proposed alternative processes and timescales have stimulated ongoing debate in the planetary science community. [10]