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 |
|
Universe began |
| 109 | billions of years ago |
4.5 billion years ago |
|
Earth formed |
| 108 | hundreds of millions of years ago |
500 million years ago |
|
First fossilized animals |
| 107 | tens of millions of years ago |
65 million years ago |
|
Extinction of the dinosaurs |
| 106 | millions of years ago |
3 million years ago |
|
First stone tools made |
| 105 | hundreds of thousands of years ago |
300 thousand years ago |
|
First modern humans |
| 104 | tens of thousands of years ago |
40 thousand years ago |
|
First figurative art |
| 103 | thousands of years ago |
5 thousand years ago |
|
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.