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Scientists believe that about 5 billion years ago, a massive explosion (maybe from a supernova—an exploding star) caused gas and dust to start swirling in space.
Gravity caused this dust to pack together, and over the next 500 million years, the Sun formed, followed by the eight planets, five dwarf planets, 181 moons, and countless asteroids and comets that make up the solar system.
Planet Earth came into existence about 4.5 billion years ago. Its history is so extensive, scientists choose to use the geologic timescale to measure it. Modern humans have existed for only the last 1.6 million years. Here’s a concise history of the world as we know it.
