When Was The Planet Earth Formed?

In fact the Earth is still being formed; it is still molten at the centre, and its continents are still moving. However, it first emerged as a planet about 4.6 billion years ago, from the same huge nebula (cloud) of gas and dust which also led to the formation of the Sun and the other planets in our solar system. At that time it was too hot to support life. It probably only became capable of sustaining life much later; water, the beginnings of simple life (algae) and the development of oxygen are 'only' 1 billion years old. Plants evolved about 400 million years ago, with the first animal life appearing 100-150 million years after that. (Of course these figures can't be very exact.) Most life (including the dinosoars) was wiped out about 60 million years ago, probably due to an asteroid colliding with the Earth; after this, mammals eventually began to increase in numbers and variety. Among the emerging mammals were pirimates, the ancestors of humans.

Add Comment

Report