Hadean

The Hadean

The Hadean is the very first part of Earth's story. It started about 4.6 billion years ago when our planet was just being made, and it lasted until about 4 billion years ago. This time is named after Hades, the Greek god of the underworld, because Earth was very hot and not easy to live on.

During the Hadean, Earth was still cooling down. It had a thick air full of gases like water vapor, methane, and ammonia. As Earth cooled, the water in the air turned into liquid and made a huge ocean. For a time, Earth was an ocean planet.

We know very little about the Hadean because rocks from this time are very rare. Scientists found only a few tiny pieces of a special mineral called zircons in Western Australia. These tiny pieces help us learn about what Earth was like long ago. Some scientists think that important things for life may have started during the Hadean, but we are still finding out more about this ancient time.

The Hadean is important because it was when Earth began to change and cool. It set the stage for the beautiful planet we live on today.