Ten Events in the History of the Universe
Ten events spanning the history of the universe organized by powers of ten.
Date Range | Date | Event | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1010 | tens of billions of years ago |
13-14 billion years ago |
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Universe began |
109 | billions of years ago |
4.5 billion years ago |
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Earth formed |
108 | hundreds of millions of years ago |
500 million years ago |
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First fossilized animals |
107 | tens of millions of years ago |
65 million years ago |
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Extinction of the dinosaurs |
106 | millions of years ago |
3 million years ago |
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First stone tools made |
105 | hundreds of thousands of years ago |
300 thousand years ago |
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First modern humans |
104 | tens of thousands of years ago |
40 thousand years ago |
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First figurative art |
103 | thousands of years ago |
5 thousand years ago |
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First writing |
102 | hundreds of years ago |
1492 | ![]() |
Columbus: east meets west |
101 | tens of years ago |
1969 | ![]() |
First people on the moon |
Memorize these ten dates as a framework for understanding deep time.