This episode examines the first billion years of Earth's existence—a time of continuous catastrophe. Blasted by comets and meteors, rocked by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, and seared by acid rain, the early Earth seemed a highly improbable place for life to take hold.

The resources below provide supplementary articles and media on the formation of the solar system and the Earth, and on the physical nature of the Earth as a precursor to life.

		The Formation of the Solar System Article for grades 3 through 12 About 4.6 billion years ago, our solar system came into being. This comic strip explains the processes that led to the creation of the planets and the asteroid belt.
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		What If There Were a Planet Between Mars and Jupiter? Activity for grades 3 through 12 A wide belt of asteroids lies between Mars and Jupiter, and was formed at the same time. If these asteroids had come together to form a 10th planet, what would it be like? Students investigate the answer.
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		Ernst Chladni and Rocks from the Sky Article for grades 9 through 12 Today, we accept the notion that enormous rocks exist within our solar system and that some of them fall to Earth. A little over 200 years ago, though, this idea garnered skepticism and ridicule.
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		Launching and Recovering Meteorites Activity for grades 3 through 12 Throwing water balloons on school grounds in the name of science? Absolutely, if you do it safely, and apply what you learn to the science of finding and recovering meteorites.
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		Impacts Article for grades 3 through 12 Why do you think they call it “Impacts"? A comic strip shows what can happen—and does happen—when asteroids head for Earth.
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		Space Weather Article for grades 9 through 12 The Sun continuously sheds its skin, blowing a fierce wind of charged particles in all directions. Find out what happens when this wind—carrying mass from a solar storm—slams into Earth.
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		Rock Dating Gallery Article for grades 9 through 12 The discovery of radioactivity in 1896 made it possible to determine the precise age of rocks. But how exactly does radioactive element dating work? Find out with this multimedia overview.
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		Zircon Chronology: Dating the Oldest Material on Earth Article for grades 9 through 12 The mineral zircon serves as a tiny time capsule, recording geologic events—it's especially useful because the oldest discovered grains (4.2 billion to 4.3 billion years old) are not much younger than the Earth itself.
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		The Nature of Diamonds Exhibition Materials for grades 6 through 12 Did you know that 80 percent of the diamonds mined each year are used for industry, not jewelry? Or that diamonds are mined on most continents? Take a close-up look at this "king of gems."
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		Inge Lehmann: Discoverer of the Earth's Inner Core Article for grades 9 through 12 Each one of the thousands of earthquakes that occur every year offers a brief glimpse of what's happening deep inside the Earth. Lehmann used seismic signals to change our knowledge of the Earth's core.
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		Exploring Density Activity for grades 3 through 12 Why do some materials sink to the core of a planet while others float to the crust? This experiment uses marshmallow fluff and molasses to illustrate the concept of planet differentiation.
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		Ultra-High-Pressure Experimentalist Who Studies the Deep Earth Article for grades 9 through 12 The intense heat and pressure of the deep Earth are hard to imagine—and even harder to re-create. Currently, scientists need to work with samples so small they look like a grain of ground pepper.
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		Arthur Holmes: Harnessing the Mechanics of Mantle Convection to the Theory of Continental Drift Article for grades 9 through 12 This geologist made not one but two major contributions to our understanding of how the Earth works. Read about his geologic time scale and his contributions to the theory of continental drift.
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		James Hutton: The Founder of Modern Geology Article for grades 9 through 12 Until the late 18th century, most people believed the Earth was about 6,000 years old. Hutton changed this belief by proposing that geologic forces operate at the same rate today as in the past.
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		The Rise of Oxygen Article for grades 6 through 12 Oxygen is so essential that it's hard to imagine Earth without it. Yet it wasn't in the atmosphere for the first half of our planet's 4.5-billion-year history. Trace the profound effects of its rise.
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