![artistic rendering of early earth landscape](images/media/library_003_lg.jpg)
When Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago from a hot mix of gases and solids, it had almost no atmosphere. Illustration by Peter Sawyer © Smithsonian Institution
When Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago from a hot mix of gases and solids, it had almost no atmosphere. Illustration by Peter Sawyer © Smithsonian Institution