2. The First Breath and Water (4.0 – 2.5 Billion Years Ago)
4. The Rise of Mammals and Humans (66 Million Years Ago – Present) The History of the Earth
Earth formed from the , a swirling disk of dust and gas leftover from the sun's birth. For millions of years, gravity pulled rocks together, creating a molten, white-hot sphere. During this "Hadean" period, a Mars-sized object named Theia slammed into Earth; the debris from this collision eventually coalesced to form the Moon . For millions of years, gravity pulled rocks together,
Earth continues to change. Tectonic plates shift, the sun grows slightly brighter, and the climate evolves. We are now in the , a period where human activity is the primary driver of environmental change, leaving the next chapter of Earth's story firmly in our hands. Tectonic plates shift, the sun grows slightly brighter,
Life exploded in complexity during the . Creatures moved from the sea to the land, leading to the age of lush forests and massive insects. This era saw the rise and fall of the Supercontinent Pangea and the reign of the Dinosaurs . For 165 million years, these giants dominated the planet until a massive asteroid struck the Yucatan Peninsula, triggering a mass extinction.