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Translated brass plates
13720: The Big Bang. The first particles are formed. During the first millisecond, protons, the nuclei of hydrogen atoms are formed. The nuclei of helium
atoms, alfa-particles are formed when the universe’s age is 100-1000 seconds.
13720: The amount of energy stored in matter increases to be larger than the
amount of energy in radiation. The age of matter begins.
13719,6: Neutrally charged hydrogen and helium atoms are born. The constant scattering of light ends. Light-photons can freely escape into space, creating the cosmic microwave background. The temperature of the background
radiation is 3000 K, or 2700°C.
13530: The dark ages. Stars are galaxies have not been born yet. The cosmic
microwave background has cooled to 55 K or -218°C.
13440: The first stars are born (Pop. III). They are large, massive, bright and
short-lived. They only contain hydrogen, helium and some lithium. Other elements are born in the fusion reactions inside stars or when they exploded as
super- or hypernovae.
13200: The second generation star (Pop. II), HE 1523-0901, is born. The amount
of iron in the star is only one thousandth of the amount of iron in the Sun. This
means that it cannot form planets around it. Galaxies are slowly starting to
form. The sparse interstellar material begins to reionise into plasma.
13060: Globular clusters, the oldest structures in our Milky Way, begin to form.
Many of these are still in existence today. The light from the galaxy, HUFD.YD3,
begins its journey towards earth. The galaxy is currently 30 billion light years
away from us.
12610: Large first and second generation stars form the elements of life:
carbon, and the necessary ingredient for water, oxygen. The smaller second
generation of stars develop much slower and can still be found in our cosmic
neighbourhood. The sparse intergalactic material has ionised into plasma.
11500: The largest structures in the Universe, galaxy clusters, begin to form.
The local group of galaxies consists of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies
as well as 50 smaller galaxies. The closest galaxy cluster is the Virgo cluster,
of which the central galaxy is M87. The Virgo cluster has about 2000 known
galaxies.
11010: The Universe is full of active galaxies, quasars. Quasars are the brightest
objects in the universe.
10330: Star formation is the strongest in starburst-galaxies. Starburst-galaxies
can have 100 stars forming per year. In the Milky Way, there is one star forming
per year.
8650: The disc of the Milky Way is born. The first third generation stars (Pop. I)
form. These stars can form earth-like planets around them. It is still four billion
years until the formation of the Solar System.
7700: Superclusters of galaxies start to form. The local supercluster is comprised of the Virgo cluster as well as around ten other smaller galaxy clusters
and galaxy groups.
6860: The age of the Universe is half of what it is now. It has been approximately 216 300 000 000 000 000 seconds since the start. Light travels around
65 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 kilometres during this time.
What is on the map?
What is Time Trek?
13720: The Big Bang. The first particles are formed. During the
first millisecond, protons, the nuclei of hydrogen atoms are
formed. The nuclei of helium atoms, alfa-particles are formed
when the universe’s age is 100-1000 seconds. 13060: Globular
clusters, the oldest structures in our Milky Way, begin to form.
Many of these are still in existence today. The light from the galaxy, HUFD.YD3, begins its journey towards earth. The galaxy is
currently 30 billion light years away from us. 5300: The nearby
star, 61 Virginis, is born. The star is Sun-like and has been found
to be the host of several planets. Two of the planets are around
the size of Neptune and one of them is five times as massive as
the Earth. 4568: The Earth begins to form from from silicates
and iron. The material of the accretion disc that the Earth forms
from is so hot that water and other volatile substances evaporate. The water and nitrogen in the Earth’s atmosphere are from
later-arriving asteroids and comets. Oxygen is formed much later,
once life has started on Earth. 4530: The Moon is formed. It was
most likely formed by a Mars-sized object, Theia, colliding with
proto-Earth. In Greek mythology Theia is the mother of Selene,
the Moon. The moon is formed by material ejected from the collision. 4500: The core, mantle and crust of the Earth separate. The
heavier elements sink to form the core, while lighter elements either rise or stay in place. 4000: Somewhere, in watery conditions
without oxygen, the building blocks of life form. Nucleotides,
the building blocks of RNA and DNA, amino acids, the building
blocks of proteins, and lipids, the building blocks of membranes
are formed. Small organic molecules chain into long strands. By
chance, some of the strands can replicate into the mirror image
of themselves, and back again into the original form. These ribbons are formed of nucleotides. The RNA world, the first primitive life, is born. 1880: Microcontinents and island arcs collide in
Finland. The collision is called the Fennian orogeny, and it forms
the Karelides mountains. 1600: Large volcanic Rapakivi granite
deposits are form in the Fennoscandian area. The marker-stones
of the Time Trek are equigranular Rapakivi from Taivassalo. 800:
Most of the Earth is covered by glaciers. There are even glaciers
close to the equator. There is a substantial amount sea ice. The
emptied ecological niche could be filled during the warmer periods. Early forms of sponges evolve. 540: Many groups of animals,
such as trilobites, evolve a hard shell, which causes their fossils to
be found intact. Most of the major groups of animals, like vertebrates, are born. 65,5: An asteroid, with a diameter of about ten
kilometres, hits the Yucatán peninsula. The crater is known as the
Chicxulub crater. Most of the dinosaurs and many sea-creatures,
such as Ammonites and Belemnites go extinct. 2.6: The Isthmus
of Panama rises and the thermal exchange between the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans ceases. The waters in the Atlantic cool and the
latest ice-age begins in Scandinavia. Ape man make the first tools.
South America has rodents that weigh as much as a metric ton.
0,20000: The inclination of the Earth’s axis and the change of the
shape of the Earth’s orbit cause climate changes in 40 000 – 100
000 year cycles. The glaciation accelerates the evolutionary process. Modern man, Homo sapiens, evolves in Africa. 0,00041: The
telescope and the microscope are invented. Galileo Galilei sees
the mountains on the Moon, the four moons of Jupiter and, using
the phases of Venus, shows that the Earth rotates around the Sun.
Robert Hooke discovers the cells in cork bark using a microscope.
The Time Trek is a 13.7 kilometer long trekking and outdoor route that starts
at the Tuorla Observatory and ends at the University of Turku. The Trek passes
through the cities of Kaarina and Turku and is designed for all those who are
interested in the history of the Universe, Earth and Life. The Trek is designed
for people of all ages, and should be interesting for the whole family. The
scenery along the Trek is diverse ranging from forests, fields and parks to urban environments.
The length of the Trek, 13.7 km, is intended to reflect the Universe’s age, 13.7
billion years. This can be seen along the Trek as one kilometer equals to a billion years in the age of the Universe. There are Rapakivi-boulders with brass
plaques along the route marking out significant points in the history of the
Universe. The plaques will briefly explain the events marking a certain period
as well as marking the point in time that corresponds to the plaque. This map
will help you understand the route better.
Instructions for you Trek
The main part of the Time Trek is in passable terrain, such as walking and bicycle paths or closed roads. In biolaakso there is a climb along a rocky forest
hill that might be slippery when it rains. For this reason there’s a detour, which
causes the Universe’s age to ’lengthen’ by a few million years (200 meters). The
detour is marked on the map.
In Turku, the route follow a street, which only has a pedestrian pavement. We
recommend walking if traveling with a bicycle along this road, as there are
plenty of intersections here. We hope you take a little amount of extra caution
along this street.
Remember that you are bound by normal city ordinances. Don’t throw your
trash on the ground. There are plenty of trashcans in the parks as well as along
the route.
Enjoy your Trek!
The start of the Trek, in Tuorla, can be reached by many buses.
More detailed information can be found on our webpage. The details of the restaurants marked on the map can also be found on
our webpage.
K.H. Renlunds
Foundation
6660: The expansion of the Universe accelerates due to dark matter.
6000: The star, 51 Peg, is born. In 1994, it was discovered to be the first Sunlike star with planets around it. The planet is half as massive as Jupiter and
orbits around the star in just over four days. The star is situated in the middle
of the right side of the large square of the Pegasus constellation.
5300: The nearby star, 61 Virginis, is born. The star is Sun-like and has been
found to be the host of several planets. Two of the planets are around the size
of Neptune and one of them is five times as massive as the Earth.
5100: The binary star ŋ Cas is born. The star does not set in Finland, and can
be seen throughout the year. ŋ Cas can be found in the middle-right of the
W-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia.
4568: Part of an inter-stellar gas cloud condenses into a spinning disc of gas.
The gas and dust in the disc settle into a thin layer. During a few ten million,
years it forms in to planets. The Sun ignites (this is known to an accuracy of
about five million years). The Earth starts to form.
The Earth is formed from silicates and iron. The material of the accretion disc
that the Earth forms from is so hot that water and other volatile substances
evaporate. The water and nitrogen in the Earth’s atmosphere are from laterarriving asteroids and comets. Oxygen is formed much later, once life has
started on Earth.
4530: The Moon is formed. Formation was most likely caused by a Mars-sized
object, Theia, colliding with proto-Earth. In Greek mythology Theia is the
mother of Selene, the Moon. The moon is formed by material ejected from
the collision.
4500: The core, mantle and crust of the Earth separate. The heavier elements
sink to form the core, while lighter elements either rise or stay in place.
4400: The Earth reaches its current size. The formation and differentiation
of the core are complete. The oldest zircon crystals are formed. These can be
found in the Yilgarn Craton of Jack Hills in Australia.
4280: The oldest rocks form. These can be found in the Hudson Bay area in
Canada. The anti-gravity of dark energy dominates over the gravity of matter.
4000: The Earth is bombarded by meteorites. The orbits of Jupiter and Saturn
synchronise, causing Uranus and Neptune to change orbits. The inner Solar
System is swarming with comets. Massive amounts of objects hitting the
Earth destroy most of its surface. The large craters on the Moon are formed.
Somewhere, in watery conditions without oxygen, the building blocks of
life form. Nucleotides, the building blocks of RNA and DNA, amino acids, the
building blocks of proteins, and lipids, the building blocks of membranes are
formed. They could have formed, for example, inside undersea hydrothermal
vents, like black smokers. They are also arrive on Earth in meteorites.
Small organic molecules chain into long strands. By chance, some of the
strands can replicate into the mirror image of themselves, and back again into
the original form. These ribbons are formed of nucleotides. The RNA world,
the first primitive life, is born.
The replicating RNA-strands begin to be more diverse and complicated. A
complex cooperating network of molecules is formed. The network can combine amino acids into proteins using the instructions inside a strand of RNA.
The RNA-protein world has started.
4000 continued: Replicating and protein producing RNA-strands pack inside
membranes. Slowly they begin to replicate by dividing themselves. Cellbased life is born.
Cellular life evolves and produces new protein enzymes, through which it
’invents’ new methods. For example, how to copy DNA and produce different
kinds of membrane-molecules. These new inventions lead to the separate
from the cellular population of the last universal common ancestor, into the
development paths of bacteria and archea.
3900: The oceans are filled with plenty of life and the ocean floor is covered
in small layers of dead cells. The oldest sedimentary rocks are formed from
these layers and can be found in Isua, Greenland.
3500: The trondhjemite gneiss of Siurua, Pudasjärvi, the oldest area in
Europe, is formed. Multi-specied microbial growths are found in the seas as
well as in rocks. Their fossils can be found in South Africa and Australia. Some
of the species can produce energy using sunlight. This reaction does not form
oxygen yet.
2900: A large part of the bedrock in northern and eastern Finland is formed.
The continents move to form the Vaalbara supercontinent. Vaalbara breaks
up 2 800 million years ago. Oxygen-forming photosynthesis is starting, but
the oxygen binds to minerals and sea-water instead of being freed into the
atmosphere.
2700: Plate tectonics move continents together, forming the Kenorland
supercontinent. Kenorland breaks up 2 500 million years ago.
2300: The climate is very cold and the Earth is occasionally totally covered in
ice. Finland has glaciers. Iron deposits onto the ocean floors in alternate layers
of unoxidised and oxidised forms. This shows that the amount of oxygen in
the oceans has fluctuated over time.
2200: The oxygen-revolution occurs. The oxygen produced by cyanobacteria
is freed into the atmosphere. Cyanobacteria form the stromatolites of Tervola’s Peuranpalo in Peräpohja. Oxygen breathing bacteria live symbiotically
inside eukaryotic organisms. These later evolve to become mitochondria.
1900: Southern Finland has active volcanic island arcs, similar to current
activity in the Phillipines. The marks made by the volcanic activity can be seen
in the amphibolites of the Finnish bedrock.
The coal sacks of Aitolahti (Corycium enigmaticum, or ’mysterious little sack’)
are formed. These were once considered the oldest fossils in the World. Today,
they are known to be microfossils that resemble cyanobacteria.
1880: Microcontinents and island arcs collide in Finland. The collision is called
the Fennian orogeny, and it forms the Karelides mountains.
1860: The motion of lithosphere plates changes directions causing a stretching motion that forms large sedimentary basins in Finland. The old sandstone
of Tiirismaa in Hollola is a good example of one of these basins.
1834: The Saramantia continent, from the south, and Amazonian continent,
from the west, collide with the main Karelides-area. This causes the formation
of mountain chains in Finland (the Nordic orogeny in the west and Svekobaltic orogeny in the south).
The current surface of the earth is at a depth of 18 kilometres below the
surface, an environment where the temperature is 800°C. The rocky material
found in the southern Finland melts, forming migmatite and granite magma.
The dark red granite-miners found in southern Finland are formed in these
temperature and pressure conditions.
1800-1500: The continents gather together and form the Columbia supercontinent.
1800: The Karelides in southern and western Finland break up and there is a
rapid rise of the Earth’s surface. The crust of the Earth stabilises and becomes
brittle. Crushed zones are formed, like the deep bays of southern Finland,
Halikko and Mynälahti, Kihti in the Finnish archipelago and some of the lakebasins in Finland.
1600: Large volcanic Rapakivi granite deposits are form in the Fennoscandian area. The marker-stones of the Time Trek are equigranular Rapakivi from
Taivassalo.
1500: Multi-celled filamentary red algae evolve. Multicellularity makes it
possible for cells to divide the workload. The differentiation of cells makes the
formation of large plants, and later animals, possible. The Columbia supercontinent breaks up around 1 500 – 1 300 million years ago.
1275: The olivine diabase found in Satakunta is formed from the Earth’s mantle and represents the eruption vents of ancient volcanoes. Olivine diabase is
an excellent stone for a sauna stove.
900: The continents gather, due to plate tectonics, to form the Rodinia
supercontinent. Oxygen-producing photosynthesis binds carbon dioxide. Volcanic activity is low. There are only a little amount of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. The Earth cools into Snowball Earth, which causes an evolutionary bottleneck.
660: Most of the Earth is covered by glaciers. There are even glaciers close
to the equator. There is a substantial amount sea ice. The emptied ecological niche could be filled during the warmer periods. Early forms of sponges
evolve.
625: The open clusters in the constellation of Hyades and Cancer are born.
575: Southern Finland is partially covered by the sea. The diverse Ediacara
biota, in the expanding shallow seas, strongly diversifies. Ediacara biotoa is
the progenitor for modern sponges, medusozoa (polyps and medusae) and
corals.
542: South-western Finland is covered by a shallow sea. Sealife diversifies
rapidly. Many groups of animals, such as trilobites, evolve a hard shell, which
causes their fossils to be found intact. Most of the major groups of animals,
like vertebrates, are born.
488: The Rodinia supercontinents breaks up. The surface of the oceans is at
its highest. The first vertebrates evolve. Corals, moss animals, brachiopods,
trilobites and the first vertebrates form limestone sediments in the region of
the Baltic Sea.
470: Due to a collision with a cosmic asteroid the Earth is subjected to a
powerful meteorite shower. It does not cause large-scale extinction, but
accelerates the evolution of new species in the Baltic and other seas. The first
joint-legged animals, or arthropods, rise from the sea on to dry land.
445: The continents freeze while moving through the southern polar region.
The forming glaciers bind the water and the sea level drops. 85 per cent of
the organisms in shallow seas go extinct.
416: The European and American continents collide, forming the Caledonian
mountain chain and lowering the sea level. Placodermi, or armoured fish, are
the first vertebrates with jaws. The first cartilaginous fishes, the progenitors of
sharks and rays, live in the seas.
416-360: The Caledonian mountain chain, as high as the Himalayas erodes.
The thick fluvial deposits cover southern Finland. The Scandinavian Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains are remnants of the Caledonian mountain chain. Amphibians and insects are born. Fish and land flora diversify.
318-299: The Pangaian supercontinent is at its most extended state. Finland
is in the tropics. Constant glaciation in southern pole causes large fluctuations in sea level.
Forests of ferns, tens of meters tall, are prevalent. They form the majority of
the Earth’s coal deposits. The first flowering plants evolve. Most of the current
insect groups have developed. The Meganeura-dragonfly with a wingspan of
over 75 cm lives during this time.
251: 90 per cent of all species go extinct. There are many possible reasons for
this, for example the Basalt eruption of Siberia or a collision with an asteroid.
The oldest sea bottoms are this old, and older signs of life or asteroid collisions cannot be found in the sea. Shallow seas dry up and form sediments of
rock salts.
230: The Pangaia supercontinet breaks up. The surfaces of the oceans rise
and the climate gets warmer. Reptiles evolve into turtles and the first dinosaurs and mammals. There are large forests of Cycas, or coned palms. Erosion
has eradicated evidence of these sediments in Finland. The Solar System is in
the same part of the Milky Way as it is now.
199: The climate changes caused by changes in sea level, asteroid collisions
or volcanic activity cause about half of all species to go extinct. The first
crocodiles evolve.
199-145: Continents separate and the Atlantic Ocean expands. The oceans
have plenty of Ammonites. Single-celled calcified haptophytes become
common. The climate is hot and dry. Dinosaurs and Pterosaurs diversify. For
example, large Sauropods are common. Birds evolve. The Earth is covered by
coniferous trees, Cycas, and ferns.
100: The Pleiades, an open cluster, is born. The gas and dust of the original
cloud can still be seen in photographs. The mid-oceanic ridges are volcanically active and the carbon-dioxide content of the atmosphere increases. The
climate is warm and marsupials evolve.
73: An asteroid, with a diameter of about 500 meters, hits Lappajärvi at
about 50 km per second. The impact is equivalent to a million Hiroshimatype atomic bombs, but without the radioactive radiation. The explosion kills
everything within a few hundred kilometres.
70-65,5: The Oceans are at their maximum height. Except for Scandinavia,
most of Europe is covered by a shallow sea. Many chalk deposits, such as the
Cliffs of Dover, are formed from the sediments of Ammonites.
Due to volcanic activity, the atmosphere’s carbon-dioxide content is about
four times larger than now. The average temperature is about 5°C higher.
Flowering plants become common. Plenty of dinosaurs exist, such as Ceratopsidae, duck-billed dinosaurs and Tyrannosaurus Rex in northern America.
65,5: An asteroid, with a diameter of about ten kilometres, hits the Yucatán
peninsula. The crater is known as the Chicxulub crater. There is a massive
basaltic eruption in current India, forming the Deccan Traps. There is a lot of
dust and ash in the atmosphere.
65,5: Catastrophically rapid changes happen in the atmosphere: the temperature plummets, the ozone-layer is destroyed and acid rains become
common. Most of the dinosaurs and many sea-creatures, such as Ammonites
and Belemnites, go extinct.
60: Marsupials and Eutheria, placental mammals, diversify. The first insectivores, primates and rodents evolve.
45: The ocean levels are still high. The Baltics and Finland are intermittently
under a shallow sea. Baltic amber is born. A lot of new mammals evolve, such
as hoofed animals.
40: The Alps rise as Africa collides with Europe. The main groups of mammals and over half of the current orders of birds exist. Pakicetus, a wolf-like
progenitor of whales, lives in Asia.
35: The isthmus that connects South America and Antarctica breaks. The cold
ocean-current that goes around Antarctica starts. Antarctica starts to cool
down and glaciate.
25: The climate cools. There are plenty of sabre-toothed carnivores. Flowering
plants evolve and speciate.
10: The Great Orion Nebula is formed. It could have been first seen as a large
black splotch on the sky. Nowadays the nebula is lit up by the young stars
in front of it. Stars are still being born in the dark insides of the cloud. The
climate continues to cool. The first deers and elephants evolve.
6: The rise of the bedrock at the Straight of Gibraltar and the fluctuations of
the sea-level isolate Mediterranean as an inland sea that dries multiple times
into a salt desert. Eastern Africa dries up and ape man moves to the savannah.
The largest known bird, Argentavis, with a wing-span of over 7 meters, flies of
South America searching for carrion.
4: Ardipithecus ramidus wanders on two feet in Africa. North America has
horned rodents that resemble ground hogs
3: The Isthmus of Panama rises and the thermal exchange between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans ceases. The waters in the Atlantic cool and the latest
ice-age begins in Scandinavia. Ape man make the first tools. South America
has rodents that weigh as much as a metric ton.
1: The Solar System wanders, with respect to the neighbouring stars, about
65 light years in a million years. The night time sky looks completely different
from what it is now. The glaciation in northern Europe are more wide-spread
and last longer. The large islands of the Mediterranean have small elephants.
0,20000: The inclination of the Earth’s axis and the change of the shape of
the Earth’s orbit cause climate changes in 40 000 – 100 000 year cycles. The
glaciation accelerates the evolutionary process. Modern man, Homo sapiens,
evolves in Africa.
0,06000: The glaciers grow and bind a lot of water. Ocean levels drop and the
Red Sea dries up. Modern man moves from Africa to Europe. The constellations in the sky are recognisable.
0,03000: Southern Finland is a productive steppe with wandering mammoths. Europe has cave lions, woolly rhinoceri and giant goats. Many human
species are still alive. Our nearest relative, the Neanderthal man, goes extinct.
Modern man paints the cave paintings of Europe.
0,02300: Due to the spinning precession of the Earth’s axis, the stellar poles
change places in 25 700 year cycles. The current north star, Polaris, was the
north star for the previous time 23 000 years ago.
0,02000: The Scandinavian glacier covers all of Finland. The southern edge
is as far as northern Germany. South-western Finland’s bedrock sinks two
kilometers under the weight of the ice.
0,01200: Agriculture and the sociocultural evolution of man begin in the
Middle East.
0,01170: The climate heats up 5–10°C during a few decades. The glacier
melts and the edge retreats quickly in south-western Finland. The edge of the
glacier is water, 100 meters deep, with icebergs floating in it, just like modern
Greenland.
0,01000: A large amount of ice age mammals go extinct.
0,00500: The first civilisations are founded in Mesopotamia, Egypt and China.
Writing is invented in Mesopotamia. Indicators of civilisation are: advanced
agriculture, city-dwelling, specialised professions, advanced governance and
writing. The motions of the celestial bodies act as calendars.
0,00040: The telescope and the microscope are invented. Galileo Galilei sees
the mountains on the Moon, the four moons of Jupiter and, using the phases
of Venus, shows that the Earth rotates around the Sun. Robert Hooke discovers the cells in cork bark using a microscope.
0,00015: Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species is published in 1859. The
theory of evolution refutes the ancient claim that species don’t change.
0,00005: The structure of DNA and the genetic code is deciphered. Manned
space flights begin, and within ten years man sets foot on another celestial
body, the Moon. Man strongly influences his environment causing great
amounts of extinction.
0,00000: The genome of organisms can be changed in a controlled way.
Humankind is not any more necessarily a target for natural selection. Planets
are found around numerous amounts of other stars, even earth-like planets in
habitable zones around their host stars.
Glossary
The brass plates on the boulders that mark significant events in the history of
the Earth and the Universe might contain some difficult to understand words.
Here is a glossary to help you navigate through Time Trek.
Accretion disc
A collection of dust and gas rotating around a
central body.
Amber
Fossilized harden resin from old conifer trees.
Amphibolite
A dark coloured and heavy rock that is formed
from igneous rock in high temperature and
pressure.
Andromeda
Galaxy
A galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda. The
closest large galaxy.
Anti-gravity
The acceleration of the expansion of the universe caused by dark energy.
Asteroid
A rock-like object that is smaller than a planet,
that orbits around the Sun.
Basalt
Dark, volcanic rock that contains heavy elements, such as iron and magnesium. Basalt is
formed when lava solidifies.
Basalt Eruption
An event where basalt-containing lava erupts
from a volcano onto land or in the sea.
Binary star
A system of two stars that orbit each other.
Cassiopeia
A W-shaped constellation. Conditions allowing, it
is always visible in Finland.
Coal sack, Corycium Enigmaticum
Comet
Core
Cosmic microwave background
A fossil from an unknown living organism. There
are no traces of cells or cell-structure, but analysis of the carbon in the fossil shows it to be from
a living organism.
A small ball of dust and ice that orbits around
the Sun.
The inner part of the Earth, comprised mostly of
iron and nickel.
The mostly uniform radiation coming from the
beginning of the universe.
Craton
An old an stable area of the crust, that is extraordinarily thick.
Crust
The thin outermost layer of our planet. The
thickness of the crust varies between 5-35 km, as
seen from surface.
Cyanobacterium
Dark Ages
Procaryotic organism, which is capable of photosynthesis.
A period in the history of the universe before the
first stars were born
Dark Energy
A theoretical form of energy that causes the acceleration of the expansion of the universe.
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is the genetic code in the
chromosomes of a cell’s nucleus. This code is
copied to the offspring of the organism.
Ediacara biota
The first multi-celled organism. They did not
have an exoskeleton.
Element
A substance that cannot be chemically divided
into other substances. Comprised of a nucleus
with protons and neutrons and of electrons that
orbit around the nucleus.
Eukaryotic
Animals, plants and fungi are eukaryotic organisms with cells that have nucleus and specialized
cell organelles.
Fennian Orogeny
Fennoscandia
First generation
stars
Galaxy Cluster
Globular Cluster
Gneiss
Granite
HUDF
The process that created the Karelides mountains due to a small micro-continent colliding
with a volcanic arc.
Geographical area of that is comprised of the
Scandinavian peninsula, Finland, the Kola peninsula and Karelia.
The first stars, composed of only hydrogen,
helium and only a tiny bit of lithium.
A group of large galaxies.
A spherical concentration of stars. Old stellar
systems.
A medium to coarse-foliated rock that is
comprised of quartz, feldspar and mica. Gneiss
can also contain garnet, cordierite, biotite or
amphibole. Gneiss is formed in high pressure
and temperature conditions.
Light, coarse, igneous rock formed inside the
Earth, which contains at least 20% of quartz.
The Ultra Deep Field image of the Hubble space
telescope.
Ionisation
The process of creating electrically charged
particles.
Island arc
An arc-like group of volcanic island formed e.g.
at plate boundaries.
Karelides
Finnish mountains that formed 1880 million
years ago due to the Fennian orogeny.
Magma
Man
Molten material beneath or within the Earth’s
crust, from which igneous rock is formed.
The Modern Man (Homo sapiens) is the only living species in the Homo genus. Humans belong
to the order of Primates.
Mantle
Matter domination
Meteorite
Microbial Growth
A layer of rock in between the core and crust of
the Earth. It is mostly comprised of compounds
formed of oxygen, magnesium, iron and silicon.
The period in the history of the universe when
atoms dominated over other forms of energy.
The solid remains of a body that once orbited
the Sun and that survived the flight though the
Earth’s atmosphere. Meteorites are classified into
iron, iron-stony and stone meteorites (chondrites
and achondrites).
A growth formed by many, usually diverse,
single-cell organisms.
Microcontinent
Small piece of the Earth’s crust that is no bigger
than Madagascar.
Mitochondrion
Small component of a cell that is responsible for
supplying the cell with energy.
Nebula
A cloud of hydrogen, helium, heavier elements
and dust. It lies in the interstellar space.
Olivine Diabase
Open Cluster
Orogeny
Photosynthesis
Plasma
An igneous rock consisting mostly of olivine.
Open clusters are stellar systems, which contain
a few hundred stars that were born at the same
time.
The process of mountain making or upheaval.
A set of reactions taking place in plant cells and
cyanobacteria. Using energy from sunlight carbon dioxide and water is converted into oxygen
and sugars.
Hot state of matter that is made up of electrically
charged particles.
Plate Tectonics
The theory of movements of the tectonic plates.
Polyp
A type of water dwelling animal that has attached itself to a base. Sea anemones and corals
are types of polyps.
Quasar
The brightest objects in the universe due to a
bright jet coming from the galaxy’s centre. A
quasar contains a supermassive black hole.
Rapakivi
Granite with a Rapakivi-texture. Rapakivi is typically comprised of quartz, feldspar and biotite.
Red algae
Multi-celled algae that are the oldest eukaryotic
organisms. There are thousands of species of red
algae. They are an important part of the coral
reef flora.
Redshift (z)
A system of measurement used by astronomers
to measure how long in time the light has travelled from the source.
RNA
Scandinavian
mountains
The Ribonucleic acid is a DNA-like chain that is
very fragile and short-lived. Genes are copied
from DNA to RNA before being used to form
proteins.
A relatively young mountain chain on the
Scandinavian Penisula that was formed in the
Caledonian orogeny. The mountains are situated
on the border of Norway and Sweden.
Second generation of stars
Stars formed after some of the first generation
stars exploded.
Sedimentation
Layering of solid material, such as minerals,
clay or organic cells on the bottom of a body of
water.
Snowball Earth
A scenario where most of the Earth is covered
by ice.
Starburst galaxy
A galaxy that has a very high rate of star formation.
Stellar cluster
Two types of stellar cluster are open cluster and
globular clusters. All stellar clusters that are
visible with unaided eye are members of our
galaxy, the Milky Way.
Stromatolite
Sedimentary structure formed by the organic
material bound to micro-organisms, such as
cyanobacterium.
Supercontinent
Continents gather together and form a large
landmass.
The Big Bang
The event which lead to the formation of the
universe.
The Disk of the
Milky Way
The layer of gas and stars that are located in the
rotational plane of the Milky Way.
The Milky Way
Our home galaxy.
Third generation
of stars
Trilobite
The youngest stars, such as our own Sun.
An extinct group of Cambrian period arthropods.
Their fossils are very well know. They looked like
present-day woodlice.
Trondhjemite
Light Tonalite that contains a few dark minerals.
Tonalite is a granite-like rock.
Volcanic island
arc
A chain of volcanoes that are formed when two
tectonic plates collide and form molten magma.
Volcanism
A term used to describe volcanoes and volcanic
activity.
Zircon
A mineral that is used in geological dating. Also
used as a gemstone.
Legend
The time before the Earth (the gray line)
Redshift (z) happens when the original wavelength of light leaving an object
shifts to higher wavelengths. Redshift measures the expansion of the Universe
between the object and us. This inderectly measures distance, since the speed
of light is constant. Because of redshift, we can study the early Universe.
From the formation of the Earh onwards - eons and periods
The developmental history of the Earth is divided according to major events.
These events can be geological, biological or both.
Eons are large units (large map) and they consist of eras. Eras are devided into
periods (small insert map), which contain epochs and ages. Ages are divided
into lower, middle and upper ages.
Time before the Earth (z)
Phanerozoic periods
Cambrian (542 - 488 Ma)
Eones
Ordovician (488 - 443 Ma)
Hadean (from formation of Earth
to 4000 Ma)
Silurian (443 - 416 Ma)
Archean (4000 - 2500 Ma)
Devonian (416 - 359 Ma)
Proterozoic (2500 - 542 Ma)
Carboniferous (359 - 299
Ma)
Phanerozoic (542 Ma - nutid)
Permian (299 - 251 Ma)
Triassic (251 - 200 Ma)
Proterozoic periods
Jurassic (200 - 145.5 Ma)
Calymmian, Ectasian and Stenian
(1600 - 1000 Ma)
Creataceous (145.5 - 65.5
Ma)
Tonian, Cryogenian and Ediacaran
(1000 - 542 Ma)
Paleogene (65.5 - 23 Ma)
Neogene (23 - 2.58 Ma)
Quaternary (2.58 Ma nutiden)
Starting and ending point
Café/Restaurant
Information and resting place
Drinks
Mega anni, millions of years ago
WC*
A marker with a brass plate
Resting place
Biolaakso detour
Sauna
*Toilets are available during normal opening hours.
Image credits: Starting and ending point images: Ari Brozinski, 13720: Ari Brozinski,
13060: Vesa Kankare (http://www.vkastronomy.com/), 12510: Vesa Kankare, 4530: NASA,
4568: NASA/JPL-Caltech, T. Pyle, 4500: Fahad Sulehria (http://www.novacelestia.com),
3900: P. Rona, OAR/National Undersea Research Program (NURP), NOAA, 1880: NASA,
1600: Kevin Walsh, 800: Fahad Sulehria, 540: Kevin Walsh, 65,5: NASA/JPL, 2,6: Kirsi Rajala,
0,2: José-Manuel Benito, 0,001969: Harrison H. Schmitt, NASA. Drawings: Tomi Räsänen
and Sanni Rahkola.