ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Geological history of Earth

Okay kiddo, let's talk about the history of our planet Earth! A long long time ago, around 4.6 billion years ago, Earth was just a big cloud of dust and gas floating around in space. But then, something very exciting happened - the cloud started to collapse in on itself due to gravity! This collapse caused the Earth to heat up and eventually form a solid core.

After that, the Earth was bombarded by lots of rocks and asteroids which caused even more heating and melting of the Earth's surface. This period is called the Hadean Eon, which lasted for about 600 million years! During this time, there were lots of volcanic eruptions and big meteorite impacts which created our early oceans and atmosphere.

Next up is the Archean Eon! During this time, life on Earth began to develop. The earliest forms of life were tiny bacteria which lived in the oceans. Over time, these bacteria evolved into more complex life forms like algae and plants.

Then came the Proterozoic Eon! During this time, the Earth's continents began to form and move around due to plate tectonics. The Earth also started to become oxygenated, which allowed for more complex life forms to develop.

Finally, we come to the Phanerozoic Eon which is where we are now! This eon is divided into three eras - the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. During the Paleozoic Era, the first fish, amphibians, and reptiles appeared. In the Mesozoic Era, the dinosaurs ruled the Earth! And during the Cenozoic Era, mammals became the dominant life form, including us humans!

So there you have it kiddo, a brief summary of the geological history of our wonderful planet Earth!