The renowned National Geographic television channel recently premiered a short clip explaining the formation of Earth in the universe.<a href="http://”>
The geological history of our Earth is depicted from the moment it began to form in the universe, approximately 4.55 billion years ago. Like other planets in the solar system, Earth was born from the solar nebula (a disc-shaped cloud of dust and gas left over from the formation of the Sun). The process of Earth’s formation was completed over a span of 10 to 20 million years.
In its early formation, Earth resembled a hellish landscape rather than a home for life. At that time, the temperature on our planet soared above 1,093 degrees Celsius. Earth had no atmosphere, consisting only of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water vapor. It was so scorching and toxic that getting too close would incinerate anything in seconds.
In its primordial state, Earth was a bubbling sphere of molten lava with an endless sea of magma. Gases and volcanic activity contributed to the primordial elements of the atmosphere. The outer crust of Earth initially existed in a molten state, gradually cooling into solid form while water began to accumulate in the atmosphere. The condensation of water vapor, along with ice and liquid water delivered to Earth’s surface by comets, meteorites, and larger protoplanets, created the oceans.
Around 4.53 billion years ago, Earth experienced a glancing collision with Theia—a young planet roughly the size of Mars and about 10% the mass of our planet. As a result, part of Theia’s mass merged with Earth, while the remaining portion was ejected into space on a trajectory that eventually formed the Moon thousands of years later.
