Formation of the Earth. The penciled caption on the verso reads, "Meteors rain onto red hot lava, as rocks begin to cool, 6 billion years ago (more or less). Moon was then much closer to earth."

This image is a simpler version of the one that Bonestell painted for Life magazine in December 1952. The depiction of the Moon has also been corrected compared to the earlier version. At the time of the formation of the Earth's continents, the Moon was much smoother than it is in the human era. In 1952, Bonestell depicted the Moon with modern features, but in this version the Moon is considerably less cratered.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke's comments on Chesley Bonestell are particularly poignant when viewing this image. He said, "Chesley is the original Kilroy – he's been there ahead of them all. Neil Armstrong? Well, Tranquility Base was established over Bonestell's tracks and discarded squeezed-out paint tubes. The man not only moves across space, but also across time. He was present at our world's birth and has also set up his easel to paint its death..." (quoted in Miller, The Art of Space, Zenith Press, 2014, p.26).