I formed about 4.5 billion years ago from matter orbiting the sun. Gravity pulled me together slowly, creating bigger and bigger chunks of rock that eventually formed protoplanets – some of which became me!
At first, I was a hot, molten, volcanic wasteland. Eventually, I cooled down, forming oceans and continents. My atmosphere was full of steam, carbon, and nitrogen. Life wouldn’t begin to evolve for about another billion years! It was a lonely time.
Not long after I formed, another huge protoplanet about the size of Mars smashed into me! The collision scattered huge chunks of rock into space around me, which slowly gathered to form the Moon – my first friend.