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Home / IAS Preparation / Geological History of The Earth

Geological History of the Earth: Origin,Time Scale, Shape & Motion 

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The planet Earth, at the very initial stage, was a rocky, barren, and hot object with a light atmosphere of hydrogen and helium. With the gradual increase in density, the temperature inside the earth has increased resulting in the separation of materials depending on the densities. This commences heavier materials to settle towards the center of the earth and the lighter ones to relocate towards the surface. Over time, it cooled further and hardened and condensed into a smaller size. That further led to the development of the outer surface in the form of a crust. The central most/ the innermost layer is the ‘Core’, the middle one is the ‘Mantle’, and the top layer (with respect to the surface) is called the ‘Crust’. Now, let’s learn about the Geological History of Earth, the theories of the Origin of the Earth, Earth’s galaxy, the shape of the earth, the basics of Earth motion, and its Latitudes and Longitudes.

The Universe 

The study of the Universe is called Cosmology. Wherein, ‘cosmos’ means Universe and ‘logos’ means Science. The universe contains 100 billion galaxies. Out of which, the Milky Way is the most prominent one. 

The Milky Way

The Milky Way is the galaxy in which the Earth belongs. It contains about 300 billion stars and one of these is the Sun. A large group of stars, dust and light gases bonded together through their gravity is said to be a galaxy. The Milky Way is considered to be a large ‘spiral-shaped galaxy’. 

The milky way spans about 1,00,000 light-years in diameter and takes approximately 250 million years to complete one revolution. Andromeda is the closest galaxy to the milky way. It is a spiral galaxy and contains millions of stars.

Learn more about Universe And Solar System here.

Nebulae

Found in space, a nebula is a huge cloud made of up dust and gas. A few nebulae (plural for nebula) come from the gas and dust thrown out by an exploding dying star such as a supernova. While, other nebulae are the starting points of new stars. For that reason, such nebulae are also referred to as “star nurseries”. 

  • It is stated as the diffused mass of interstellar dust or gas or both.
  • Nebulae are visible in luminous patches or areas of darkness depending on the way the mass absorbs or reflects incident radiation. 
  • It depends on the presence of stars for their luminosity.
  • If the star is extremely hot the nebula emits light, if the star is less hot the nebula only shines, and if there is no suitable star the nebula does not shine.

Read more about Earthquakes, here.

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Various Concepts Regarding the Origin of Earth

There were several suggestions put forth by different philosophers and scientists concerning the origin of the earth. The earliest one being from the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, which was revisited by Mathematician Laplace is recognized as Nebular Hypothesis. In 1950, Otto Schmidt and Carl Weizascar updated the ‘nebular hypothesis’.

The most popular argument regarding the creation of the universe is the Big Bang Theory. It is also termed the expanding universe hypothesis. Edwin Hubble, in 1920, provided evidence that the universe is expanding. 

Theory/ hypothesis given by Scientist/ Philosopher

  • Gaseous Hypothesis by-Immanuel Kant
  • Planetesimal Hypothesis by Chamberlin & Moulton
  • Nebular Hypothesis by-Laplace
  • Tidal Hypothesis by Jeans & Jeffreys
  • Supernova Hypothesis by-Hoyle
  • Interstellar Dust Hypothesis by-Otto Schmidt
  • Big Bang Theory by-Georges-Henri Lemaitre

Learn more about Rocks, here.

Geological Time Scale
Eons Era Period
Phanerozoic Cenozoic Quaternary

 

Tertiary
Mesozoic Cretaceous

 

Jurassic

Triassic
Paleozoic  Permian

 

Carboniferous

Devonian

Silurian

Ordovician

Cambrian
Proterozoic Pre-Cambrian —
Archean —
Hadean —
Origin of Stars

 

Supernova 

Big Bang

 — —

 

Also, learn about The Solar System here.

The Shape of the Earth

The true form of the Earth resembles a sphere that has been compressed along the polar axis and made to bulge slightly around the equator. This form is known as an oblate ellipsoid. The oblateness is induced by the centrifugal force of the Earth’s rotation.

Nearest and Farthest Point of the Earth

Perihelion: Nearest position of the Earth to the Sun. The Earth reaches its perihelion on January 3 every year at a distance of about 147 million km from the Sun.

Aphelion: Farthest position of the Earth from the Sun. The Earth reaches its aphelion on July 4 every year when the Earth is at a distance of 152 million km.

Earth Motion

The Earth has two types of motions:

 

Rotation- The Earth rotates along its axis from west to east.· i.e. in an anticlockwise direction. It takes 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.09 seconds in one rotation. Day and night occur due to this rotational motion.

Revolution- The annual motion of the Earth is called revolution. Since the path of the Earth is elliptical, the distance between the Earth and the Sun keeps changing.

Know more about Motions Of The Earth here.

Latitudes and Longitudes

Any location on the earth can be described by two numbers-its latitude and longitude. Consider a globe, here the lines of latitude are circles of different sizes. In the same globe lines of constant longitudes extend from pole to pole.

Also, check out the notes on Cyclones and Anti-cyclones, here.

The above article on the Geological History of the Earth is intended to guide students with relevant information. For more, download and install the Testbook App or visit the testbook website for more updates on such similar topics from geography, social science, and numerous such subjects, and can even check the test series available to test your knowledge regarding various exams. 

More Articles for IAS Preparation

Geological History of the Earth FAQs 

The Milky Way is a spiral-shaped galaxy.

The earth takes 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.09 seconds to perform one rotation

The three layers of the earth are the crust (outermost), mantle, and core (innermost) as from the surface.

The nearest point of the earth is termed Perihelion and the farthest point is known as Aphelion.

The true shape of the earth resembles a sphere.
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