i'm insane, i know this, get over it.
The Universe in One Year was inspired by the late astronomer, Carl Sagan (1934-1996). Sagan was the first person to explain the history of the universe in one year-as a “Cosmic Calendar”-in his television series, Cosmos.
Imagine that the history of the universe, 13.7 billion years, is compressed into one year-with the big bang occurring in the first seconds of New Year’s Day, and all our known history occurring in the final seconds before midnight on December 31. Using this scale of time, each month would equal a little over a billion years. Here’s a closer look at when important events would occur when we imagine the universe in one year.
January New Years Day the “Big Bang”
May 1 Milky Way Forms
September 9 Solar System Forms/ Sun and Planets Form
September 14 Formation of the Earth
September 25 Single-celled organism the oldest know form of life
October 9 Oldest known fossils (blue-green algae)
November 15 First Eukaryotes: multi-cellular life
December 1 Significant oxygen atmosphere begins on Earth
December 15 Cambrian Explosion: Burst of New life forms
December 17 Emergence of first vertebrates
December 18 Early Land Plants
December 20 First four-limbed animals
December 21 Variety of insects begin to flourish
December 24 First dinosaurs appear
December 25 First mammalian animals appear
December 27 First known birds appear
December 28 Dinosaurs wiped out by asteroid or comet
December 29 Cenozoic Period begins
December 31 10:15 am Apes first appear
9:24 pm First human ancestors to walk upright
10:48 pm Homo erectus
11:54 pm Anatomically modern humans appear
11:59:20 Invention of Agriculture
11:59:45 pm Invention of writing
11:59:50 pm Pyramids built in Egypt
11:59:58 pm Mayan civilization; Sung Dynasty China; Byzantine Empire; Mongol invasion; Crusades
1 second before midnight Voyage of Christopher Columbus
Imagine that the history of the universe, 13.7 billion years, is compressed into one year-with the big bang occurring in the first seconds of New Year’s Day, and all our known history occurring in the final seconds before midnight on December 31. Using this scale of time, each month would equal a little over a billion years. Here’s a closer look at when important events would occur when we imagine the universe in one year.
January New Years Day the “Big Bang”
May 1 Milky Way Forms
September 9 Solar System Forms/ Sun and Planets Form
September 14 Formation of the Earth
September 25 Single-celled organism the oldest know form of life
October 9 Oldest known fossils (blue-green algae)
November 15 First Eukaryotes: multi-cellular life
December 1 Significant oxygen atmosphere begins on Earth
December 15 Cambrian Explosion: Burst of New life forms
December 17 Emergence of first vertebrates
December 18 Early Land Plants
December 20 First four-limbed animals
December 21 Variety of insects begin to flourish
December 24 First dinosaurs appear
December 25 First mammalian animals appear
December 27 First known birds appear
December 28 Dinosaurs wiped out by asteroid or comet
December 29 Cenozoic Period begins
December 31 10:15 am Apes first appear
9:24 pm First human ancestors to walk upright
10:48 pm Homo erectus
11:54 pm Anatomically modern humans appear
11:59:20 Invention of Agriculture
11:59:45 pm Invention of writing
11:59:50 pm Pyramids built in Egypt
11:59:58 pm Mayan civilization; Sung Dynasty China; Byzantine Empire; Mongol invasion; Crusades
1 second before midnight Voyage of Christopher Columbus