Early Earth

Early Earth is a term usually defined as Earth's first one billion years, or gigayear. On the geologic time scale, this comprises all of the Hadean eon (itself unofficially defined), as well as the Eoarchean and part of the Paleoarchean eras of the Archean eon.

This period of Earth's history involved the planet's formation from the Solar nebula via a process known as accretion. This period also included the formation of the earliest atmosphere and hydrosphere. The earliest supracrustals (such as the Isua greenstone belt) date from the latter half of this period, about 3.8 gya, around the same time as peak late heavy bombardment.

According to evidence from radiometric dating and other sources, Earth was formed about 4.54 billion years ago. Within its first billion years,life appeared in its oceans and began to affect its atmosphere and surface, promoting the proliferation of aerobic as well as anaerobic organisms. Since then, the combination of Earth's distance from the Sun, its physical properties and its geological history have allowed life to emerge, develop photosynthesis, and, later, evolve further and thrive. The earliest life on Earth arose at least 3.5 billion years ago. Earlier physical evidence of life include graphite, a biogenic substance, in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks discovered in southwestern Greenland, as well as, "remains of biotic life" found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia. According to one of the researchers, "If life arose relatively quickly on Earth ... then it could be common in the universe."

Earth

Earth /ˈɜːrθ/ (also the world, in Greek: Γαῖα Gaia, or in Latin: Terra) is the third planet from the Sun, the densest planet in the Solar System, the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets, and the only astronomical object known to harbor life.

According to evidence from radiometric dating and other sources, Earth was formed about 4.54 billion years ago. Earth gravitationally interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon. During one orbit around the Sun, Earth rotates about its own axis 366.26 times, creating 365.26 solar days or one sidereal year. Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.4° away from the perpendicular of its orbital plane, producing seasonal variations on the planet's surface with a period of one tropical year (365.24 solar days). The Moon is Earth's only permanent natural satellite. Its gravitational interaction with Earth causes ocean tides, stabilizes the orientation of Earth's rotational axis, and gradually slows Earth's rotational rate.

Big History Project

The Big History Project was started by Bill Gates and David Christian to enable the global teaching of Big History. Big History “is the attempt to understand, in a unified way, the history of Cosmos, Earth, Life and Humanity.” It is a course that covers history from the big bang through to the present in an interdisciplinary way. The Big History Project “is dedicated to fostering a greater love and capacity for learning among high school students”.

Description

Bill Gates became interested in big history when he heard a series of 48 lectures by Christian published by The Teaching Company under the name "Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity". For Gates, “he really blew me away. Here’s a guy who’s read across the sciences, humanities, and social sciences and brought it together in a single framework. It made me wish that I could have taken big history when I was young, because it would have given me a way to think about all of the school work and reading that followed. In particular, it really put the sciences in an interesting historical context and explained how they apply to a lot of contemporary concerns”.

Big History

Big History is an emerging academic discipline which examines history from the Big Bang to the present. It examines long time frames using a multidisciplinary approach based on combining numerous disciplines from science and the humanities, and explores human existence in the context of this bigger picture. It integrates studies of the cosmos, Earth, life, and humanity using empirical evidence to explore cause-and-effect relations, and is taught at universities and secondary schools often using web-based interactive presentations. It is an academic movement spearheaded by historian David Christian of Australia's Macquarie University, who coined the term "Big History", and is made of an "unusual coalition of scholars". An early example of teaching big history is found in John F. Kennedy's famous speech at Rice University where he explains 50,000 years of human history condensed into half a century. Some historians have expressed skepticism towards "scientific history" and argue that the claims of Big History are unoriginal.

Naked Science

Naked Science is an American documentary television series that premiered in 2004 on the National Geographic Channel and ran through November 2011. The program featured various subjects related to science and technology. Some of the views expressed might be considered fringe or pseudo-science, and some of the scientists may present opinions which have not been properly peer-reviewed or are not widely accepted within their scientific communities, in particular on topics such as Bermuda Triangle or Atlantis for example.

Episodes

DVD releases

Two seasons of the show have been released on DVD by Fremantle Home Entertainment.

Season one

The first season was released on three discs in 2007. Total running time is 624 minutes. <div class="div-col columns column-count column-count-# "Killer Asteroid"