Graphical timeline of our universe

This more than twenty billion years timeline of our universe shows the best scientific estimates of the occurrence of events since its beginning, up until anticipated events in the near future. Zero of the scale is the present day. A large step on the scale is one billion years, a small step one hundred million years. The past time have a minus sign, e.g. the oldest rock on Earth was formed about four billion years ago and this is marked at -4e+09 years. The theoretical "Big Bang" event happened 13.7 billion years ago, see age of the Universe.

ImageSize = width:773 height:2000PlotArea = left:60 right:60 bottom:45 top:45AlignBars = early

Colors = id:period1 value:rgb(1,1,0.7) # light yellow id:period2 value:rgb(0.7,0.7,1) # light blue id:events value:rgb(1,0.7,1) # light purple id:time1 Value:yellowgreen id:time2 value:lightorange id:elapse1 Value:coral id:elapse2 Value:lavender id:grayKindOf Value:gray(0.93) id:WhiteDwarf Value:rgb(0.92,0.92,1) id:phanerozoic value:rgb(0.7019,0.886,0.819) id:proterozoic value:rgb(0.8,0.85,0.568) id:archean value:rgb(0.6,0.6784,0.6745) id:hadean value:rgb(0.4,0.4,0.4) id:precambrian value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:cenozoic value:rgb(1,1,0) id:mesozoic value:rgb(0.5,0.6784,0.3176) id:paleozoic value:rgb(0.5,0.7098,0.835) id:neoproterozoic value:rgb(0.792,0.647,0.583) id:mesoproterozoic value:rgb(0.867,0.761,0.533) id:paleoproterozoic value:rgb(0.702,0.698,0.369) id:eoarchean value:rgb(0.5,0.565,0.565) id:paleoarchean value:rgb(0.6,0.592,0.569) id:mesoarchean value:rgb(0.698,0.65,0.6) id:neoarchean value:rgb(0.796,0.804,0.784) id:hadeanEra value:rgb(0.31,0.35,0.35) id:prenectarian value:rgb(0.561,0.098,0.149) id:nectarian value:rgb(0.898,0.329,0.071) id:imbrian value:rgb(0,0.481,0.811) id:earlyimbrian value:rgb(0,0.404,0.741) id:lateimbrian value:rgb(0,0.557,0.882) id:eratosthenian value:rgb(0.655,0.839,0.027) id:copernican value:rgb(1,0.961,0) id:sidericol value:rgb(1,0.4,0.3) id:theiicol value:rgb(1,0.2,0.5) id:phyllocol value:rgb(0.7,0.4,1)

Period = from:-13700000000 till:8000000000TimeAxis = orientation:verticalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1000000000 start:-13000000000ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:100000000 start:-13700000000

TextData = fontsize:M
# tabs:(210-left) pos:(10,1990) text:"Years from now"

LineData = layer:front at: 7500000000 frompos:60 tillpos:71 width:0.5 color:teal # Helium flash points:(71,1910)(104,1832) width:0.5 color:teal points:(104,1832)(115,1832) width:0.5 color:teal at: 0 width:10 color:tan1 layer:back # This present day at:-4670000000 frompos:60 tillpos:74 width:0.5 color:teal # Giant planets formed points:(74,839)(104,811) width:0.5 color:teal points:(104,811)(115,811) width:0.5 color:teal at:-4730000000 frompos:60 tillpos:71 width:0.5 color:teal # Ancient supernova points:(71,833)(104,795) width:0.5 color:teal points:(104,795)(115,795) width:0.5 color:teal

BarData = bar:Bar1 bar:Dummy1 bar:Dummy2 bar:Dummy3 bar:GalaxyBar bar:SunBar bar:LifeBar bar:SuperEonBar bar:EonBar bar:EraBar bar:LunarBar bar:MarsBar

PlotData= width:53 textcolor:black fontsize:M

bar:Bar1 mark:(line,teal) color:events align:left shift:(40,-5) at:-13700000000 text:"Origin of our universe, Big Bang theory" shift:(40,4) from:-13600000000 till:-13300000000 mark:(line,white) text:"Reionization, first stars began to shine" at:-13200000000 text:"Oldest star in Milky Way" at:-13100000000 text:"Formation of the first galaxies" shift:(40,0) at:-10000000000 text:"Earliest Population I stars" at: -4730000000 text:"Ancient supernova possibly~triggers formation of the Sun" shift:(40,-44) mark:(line,white) at: -4670000000 text:"Giant planets formed" shift:(40,-32) mark:(line,white) at: -4630000000 text:"Sun ignites hydrogen fusion~4.63 billion years ago (or 4.57)" shift:(40,-4) at: -4570000000 text:"Formation of the Earth, 4.57 billion~years ago (or 4.54)" mark:(line,white) shift:(357,-12) at: -4400000000 text:"Zircon, oldest mineral" shift:(40,-5) at: -4030000000 text:"Oldest rock~formation on Earth" from:-600000000 till:-500000000 mark:(line,white) text:"Evolution of multicellular life" at: -220000000 text:"Evolution of mammals" at: 0 text:"" mark:(line,tan1) fontsize:L at: 1000000000 text:"Sun becomes too hot for life~on Earth's surface" at: 1900000000 text:"Earth's oceans have evaporated" at: 3500000000 text:"Sun has increased its~emitted power by 40%" at: 3600000000 text:"Moon Triton crashes into~its planet Neptune" shift:(40,15) at: 5000000000 text:"Collosion risk~Earth - Mars - Mercury" at: 7500000000 text:"Sun ignites helium fusion,~starting with helium flash" mark:(line,white) shift:(40,-84) at: 7630000000 text:"Sun casts out its outer layers,~making a planetary nebula,~leaving the hot core in the~center, emitting 100 times~more power than Sun today" at: end text:"Sun has cooled down to the ~same power as today. It will ~continue cooling until it ~becomes a Black dwarf." shift:(40,23)

bar:GalaxyBar mark:(line,white) align:center shift:(0,0) color:skyblue from:-10100000000 till:-6500000000 text:"Formation of the Milky Way galactic disk" from: -4670000000 till:-4570000000 text:"Formation of~Terrestrial planets" shift:(-30,20) align:left from: -4180000000 till:-4080000000 text:"Late Heavy~Bombardment, while~planet Neptune~migrates outwards~away from Sun" shift:(-45,62) align:left from: 3000000000 till: 4000000000 text:"Milky Way and Andromeda~galaxies may collide and merge~to elliptical] one" shift:(0,10) align:left

bar:SunBar mark:(line,white) align:center shift:(0,0) from:-4680000000 till:-4630000000 text:"Sun as Protostar" shift:(3,-14) color:claret mark:(line,claret) from:-4630000000 till: 5400000000 text:"Sun as Main-sequence star" color:yellow shift:(0,20) from: 5400000000 till: 7500000000 text:"Sun as Red giant, emitting~2700 times more power than now.~Earth probably swallowed by Sun." color:magenta align:left shift:(-70,0) from: 7500000000 till: 7600000000 text:"Sun as~Horizontal~branch star" color:yelloworange shift:(0,-18) from: 7600000000 till: 7630000000 text:"Sun as Asymptotic~giant branch star" color:red shift:(0,3) from: 7630000000 till: 8000000000 text:"Sun as White dwarf" color:whiteDwarf shift:(0,5)

bar:LifeBar align:center shift:(0,0) at:-4570000000 mark:(line,teal) text:"Water~delivered~to Earth] " shift:(0,16) from:-4400000000 till:-2700000000 text:"Emergence of~Life on Earth" color:time1 shift:(0,30) from:-2700000000 till: 1000000000 text:"Life on Earth" color:drabgreen from: 1000000000 till: 5400000000 text:"Measures are taken~to cope with the~heating sun.~Otherwise only:~ ~Shielded~Life on Earth?" color:time1 shift:(0,-35) from: 5400000000 till: end text:"Life on Titan?" color:time2 shift:(0,5)

bar:SuperEonBar color:yellow align:center shift:(0,0) from:-4570000000 till: -542000000 color:precambrian text:"Precambrian" from: 1000000000 till: 5400000000 color:time2 shift:(0,0) text:"Life on Mars?" from: 7500000000 till: end color:time1 shift:(0,10) align:left text:"Very Shielded ~Life on Mars?~if planet still exists"

# The click point of the links become misplaced (one inch to the left) when using align:right bar:EonBar color:yellow align:center shift:(0,0) at: 350000000 shift:(30,0) mark:(line,white) fontsize:L text:"Earth's geological time scale of" at: 150000000 mark:(line,white) text:"Eons:" from: -542000000 till: 0 color:phanerozoic text:"Phanerozoic" from:-2500000000 till: -542000000 color:proterozoic text:"Proterozoic" from:-3800000000 till:-2500000000 color:archean text:"Archean" from:-4570000000 till:-3800000000 color:hadean text:"Hadean" shift:(0,5)

bar:EraBar color:blue mark:(line,grayKindOf) align:left shift:(0,0) at:150000000 mark:(line,white) text:"Eras:" from: -65500000 till:0 color:cenozoic text:"Cenozoic" from: -251000000 till: -65500000 color:mesozoic mark:(line,white) text:"Mesozoic" from: -542000000 till: -251000000 color:paleozoic mark:(line,white) text:"Paleozoic" from:-1000000000 till: -542000000 text:Neoproterozoic color:neoproterozoic from:-1600000000 till: -1000000000 text:Mesoproterozoic color:mesoproterozoic from:-2500000000 till: -1600000000 text:Paleoproterozoic color:paleoproterozoic from:-2800000000 till: -2500000000 text:Neoarchean color:neoarchean from:-3200000000 till: -2800000000 text:Mesoarchean color:mesoarchean from:-3600000000 till: -3200000000 text:Paleoarchean color:paleoarchean from:-3800000000 till: -3600000000 text:Eoarchean shift:(0,0) color:eoarchean from:-3850000000 till: -3800000000 shift:(0,0) color:earlyimbrian from:-3920000000 till: -3850000000 shift:(0,0) color:nectarian from:-4150000000 till: -3920000000 text:"Basin Groups" shift:(0,-5) color:hadeanEra from:-4570000000 till: -4150000000 text:"Cryptic" shift:(0,0) color:hadeanEra

bar:LunarBar color:yellow mark:(line,grayKindOf) align:left shift:(0,0) at:225000000 mark:(line,white) text:"Moon's:" from: -1100000000 till: 0 text:Copernican color:copernican from: -3200000000 till: -1100000000 shift:(0,-18) text:Eratosthenian color:eratosthenian
# from:-3850000000 till: -3200000000 text:Imbrian color:imbrian from: -3800000000 till: -3200000000 shift:(0,-5) text:"Upper Imbrian" color:lateimbrian from: -3850000000 till: -3800000000 text:"Lower Imbrian" shift:(0,0) color:earlyimbrian from:-3920000000 till: -3850000000 shift:(0,-5) text:Nectarian color:nectarian from: -4570000000 till: -3920000000 text:Pre-Nectarian color:prenectarian

bar:MarsBar color:yellow mark:(line,grayKindOf) align:left shift:(0,0) at: 6000000000 align:center text:"ZOOM OUT~The Stelliferous Era" mark:(line,white) at:225000000 mark:(line,white) text:"Mars':" from: -3500000000 till: 0 text:Siderikan shift:(0,0) color:sidericol from: -4000000000 till: -3500000000 text:Theiikian color:theiicol shift:(0,5) from: -4570000000 till: -4000000000 text:Phyllocian color:phyllocol shift:(0,-9) at:-13700000000 align:center color:time1 mark:(line,white) shift:(0,2) text:"The Primordial Era~PREVIOUS"

ee also

*Graphical timeline of the Big Bang
*Graphical timeline of the Stelliferous Era. This timeline uses logarithmic scale for comparison of this article which uses ordinary linear scale.
*Graphical timeline from Big Bang to Heat Death
*Formation and evolution of the Solar System