Galaxy
Publicbirth of the first stars
From the primordial clouds of hydrogen and helium, the very first stars form, the building blocks of what will later become the Milky Way.
Formation of the galactic halo
Ancient globular star clusters and the first protogalactic structures form the halo around the emerging Milky Way galaxy.
The Gaia-Enceladus collision
A dwarf galaxy collides with the young Milky Way and accelerates the formation of the thick disk and the structured halo.
Formation of the spiral structure
The Milky Way develops its characteristic spiral arms as gas condenses into new generations of stars.
Collapse of the solar nebula
A molecular cloud collapses, possibly triggered by a nearby supernova, forming the core of our future solar system.
Formation of the Earth
From colliding planetesimals in the protoplanetary disk, the young Earth gradually grows.
The Theia impact and the formation of the Moon
A Mars-sized object called Theia collides with the early Earth, leading to the formation of the Moon.
The Sun becomes noticeably brighter
The increasing brightness of the aging Sun begins to drastically disrupt the Earth's climate systems.
The collision with Andromeda
The Milky Way and the Andromeda Nebula merge into one enormous elliptical galaxy, after billions of years of approaching each other.
The Sun as a red giant
The Sun swells into a red giant and may engulf the inner planets, including a scorched, unrecognizable Earth.
Formation of the spiral structure
As the thin galactic disk continues to cool and stabilize, density waves arise that shape the iconic spiral arms. Enormous molecular clouds of gas and dust are compressed by these waves, leading to waves of star formation that spread through the disk like a pinwheel. Heavier elements, forged in earlier generations of stars and supernova explosions, enrich the interstellar medium and lay the foundation for future planetary systems.