Earth is Born
The Earth and the other planets formed 4.5 billion years ago from the same cosmic cloud—the primordial material which gave birth to the Sun. The dust and comets—the rocks—were composed largely of hydrogen, ice, carbon, and nitrogen.
All
Master Timeline
Population I Stars: Like our Sun
Population I stars likely started forming around 8 to 10 billion years ago, with the process continuing to the present day as new star-forming regions develop in galaxies. These third generation stars are composed of the remnants of Population II stars. The majority of the stars adorning the Milky Way today belong to this third
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Birth of the Sun
4.6 billion years ago, a cloud of gas and dust collapsed under the force of its own gravity to form our solar system.With the Sun at its center, glowing, the planets had not yet formed. The Sun, a G-type Population 1 star, shines brightly with a surface temperature of about 9,400 degrees, 5,500 Kelvin, and
Population II Stars: Heavy Element Synthesis
Legacy: Began enriching the interstellar medium with heavier elements, including carbon, necessary for organic chemistry From the ashes of Population III stars, celestial giants, rose a new generation of stars, the Population II stars. These stars contained a higher proportion of the heavier elements, granting them a longer lifespan, and likely the company of planets.
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Population III Stars: Heavier Elements
Legacy: First 26 elements of the periodic table of elements. After a few hundred million years, gravity continued to play its part, drawing atoms into an intimate collapse, giving birth to the very first stars and galaxies. These first stars, known as Population III stars, were stellar giants: massive, hot, and short-lived; they burned for
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First Atoms
The image of the early universe that we see in the CMB reveals a time shrouded in darkness. During this era, the 17 known particles first started to combine to form the universe’s first atoms. Electrons, protons, and neutrons came together to create neutral hydrogen atoms, a process that allowed photons—or light—to traverse the cosmos
RCW 86 Supernova
This supernova was observed by Chinese astronomers in 185 CE. The Chinese kept meticulous astronomical records for centuries, including observations of what modern scientists interpret as supernovae. Chinese astronomical records from 185 AD describe the appearance of a “guest star” in the constellation now known as Circinus. This guest star matches the expected location and
Death of the Sun
The death of our Sun is estimated to occur in about 5 billion years. Around this point, life on Earth will become uninhabitable. There will likely be life here right up until there’s not. Most humans will have left the planet many millions of years prior to this point. Also, the merging of the Andromeda
Singularity
A 30 Philosophers touchstone: Chapter 1, “Origin Story.” The universe began as an infinitely dense, unimaginably hot, and minuscule point known as a singularity. In a breathtaking instant, this singularity expanded and cooled, giving rise to the fabric of space, time, and matter, with all the laws of physics taking shape in that moment. The
Hourglass
Hourglasses, also known as sandglasses or sand timers, were first used in the 14th century, although it is unclear exactly when they were invented. The earliest written reference to an hourglass dates back to the early 14th century in Europe, but they may have been used earlier in other parts of the world. Hourglasses were
Law of the Twelve Tables
The Twelve Tables were rules citizens had to follow, and limits on the powers of the government. This idea was used several times during Roman history to force the Patricians, aristocrats, to consider the views of the plebeian citizens, commoners. In 451 BCE, plebeians went on strike to protest the tyranny of magistrates. The Twelve
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Appendix
The appendix is a small, finger-shaped pouch attached to the large intestine. It has long been considered a vestigial organ, meaning that it has no function in the human body. However, recent research suggests that the appendix may actually serve as a reservoir for beneficial gut bacteria. The appendix is an example of a Phenotype
First Mail, First Postal System
The first known postal system goes back to the Pharoah’s of Egypt circa 2400 BCE. Pharaohs used couriers to send out decrees throughout the Egyptian territory. The earliest surviving piece of mail dates back to 255 BCE and is also Egyptian.
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Neanderthal-Denisovan Split
12,000 Generations Ago Neanderthals and denisovans in the genus Homo had a common ancestor about 370,000 BCE (current estimates range from 250,000 to 500,000 BCE). Though neanderthals, denisovans, and sapiens share a common ancestor, they didn’t evolve directly from each other. That common ancestor from which all three evolved from was likely a later Homo
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Voltaire
13 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 26: Voltaire and Modern Journalism Voltaire was a French Enlightenment philosopher born François-Marie Arouet. He was an advocate of civil liberties and satirized intolerance, and religious dogma in a time one was punished with censorship, jail, banishment, or worse. Some of my favorite Voltaire quotes translated from French: Those
David Hume
12 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 27: Hume and Skeptical Empiricism The Scottish Enlightenment philosopher and historian Hume was a leading exponent of empiricism. The belief that all human knowledge derives solely from experience. Some of my favorite Hume quotes: “A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.” -A Treatise of Human Nature, 1739
Baruch Spinoza
16 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 25: Spinoza and Monism The Dutch philosopher Spinoza was a lens grinder by profession, a proponent of Rationalism, and an early founder of Enlightenment. My favorite concept of Spinoza’s is that God is nature, and nature is God. For me, whenever I read God in prayers and such I
Zeno of Citium (334-262 BCE)
94 Generations Ago Zeno is considered the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy. When events occur in life, people react. Life is a series of events and immediate reactions. A stoic introduces a third middle step, a judge step. On their life journey, a stoic strives for a series of event-judge-react experiences. When you introduce
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Xia Dynasty (2070-1600 BCE)
The Xia Dynasty is the first documented government of ancient China. The first to adopt dynastic succession. In modern times, it was regarded as a myth created later by Chinese historians, but 20th-century excavations uncovered sites which corresponded to descriptions in earlier historians’ accounts. This fact is an important lesson on understanding how little survived
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Pythagoras (570-495 BCE)
103 Generations Ago The Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras was born in Ancient Greece on the island Samos which is about a mile off the coast of modern Turkey. History looks at Pythagoras as an educator and philosopher as well as a cult leader. He discovered the musical octave, used deductive reasoning, and embraced an
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