BON83304: Section of papyrus inscribed with cursive hieroglyphs with the text of the eleventh section of the Book of Amtuat describing the birth of the sun-god into the sky at day-break, found in the plinth of a wooden Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figure (see 83305), Egyptian, 21st-22nd Dynasty, c.900 BC / Bridgeman Images
PIX4632789: The First Trees on Earth - Artist View - First Trees - Artist view - 385 million years ago, in the upper Devonian, the first trees began to appear on Earth. In this illustration, the archaeopteris, considered the first tree, is present at different stages of its evolution, with on the left a young specimen of 6 metres, in the centre a tree twice as large, on the right, an even older specimen. At the extreme right, a strain of an old Archaeopteris collapse. 385 million years ago, near the end of the Devonian period, the first trees began to populate the Earth. Considered the first modern trees, the Archaeopteris were a part of the Earth's primitive forests for the next 25 million years. Unlike the trees we know today, Archaeopteris was in fact a primitive fern that reproduced by means of spores instead of seeds. While terrestrial plants had been around for 130 million years prior to Archaeopteris, this was the first plant to solve the biomechanical challenges of supporting and nurturing ever larger sizes, enabling these Archaeopteris to grow to heights of 70 feet and more, over twice the height of the Calamites. In this image, four stages of the life of the Archaeopteris are illustrated. On the far left nearest our vantage point is a young, 20 - foot Archaeopteris, and in the center at twice that height is a medium - aged Archaeopteris, and on the right is a fully mature specimen. Furthest right is the collapsed and decaying trunk of a mature tree, a contribution the biomassy that will eventually become the oil, coal and natural gas we exploit today / Bridgeman Images
PIX4634245: From Big Bang to Today - From Big Bang to the Earth. Artwork - Artist's view showing the stages of formation of the universe. From left to right, the Big Bang, the first stars, the formation of galaxies, and the universe today. Universe from the beginning (left), the first stars, first galaxies, to the universe seen nowadays / Bridgeman Images
PIX4664168: Zhejiangopterus - This pterosaur was 5 metres long and lived in Cretace 81 million years ago. Zhejiangopterus is the genus of a moderately large azhdarchid pterosaur with a wingspan of about 12 feet and weight of about 50 pounds. Known for its long neck and lack of a long protruding head keel typical of other pterosaurs, this flying reptile soared in the skies of Late Cretaceous China about 81 million years ago and likely fed upon fish / Bridgeman Images
PIX4574285: Andromede Galaxy - The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) - The Andromede galaxy is located about 2.3 million light years away from Earth. Two satellite galaxies accompany it: M32 (NGC 221) at the top left of the nucleus, and M110 (NGC 205) at the bottom. Like the lactee path, the Andromede galaxy belongs to the local group, making up about thirty galaxies. M31, the Great galaxy in Andromeda, is a gigantic collection of more than 300 billion stars and is located about 2 million light years from Earth. Companion dwarf elliptical galaxies M32 and M110 are also visible. M31 and its companions are part of our local group of galaxies, which includes the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds, and M33. The Andromeda Galaxy is headed towards our Milky Way Galaxy and is expected to collide with it and possibly merge into a gigantic elliptical galaxy in about 3 billion years / Bridgeman Images
PIX4591805: Constellation of the male Hydra - Constellation Hydrus - Constellation of the southern hemisphere between the galaxies of the Small and Large Magellan Clouds. The bright star below is Achernar, in the constellation Eridan. Southern hemisphere constellation between the Small and the Large Magellic clouds galaxies. The bright star on the bottom of the image is Achernar, located in the constellation Eridanus / Bridgeman Images