Watch Neil deGrasse Tyson explain the history of the universe with animations in just eight minutes flat

As anyone who have ever seen the 21st century reboot of Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” will attest to, Neil deGrasse Tyson has a knack for explaining complex astrophysical concepts in simple terms. But, if you don’t have the time or the patience to sit through his 13 hour-long episodes to learn more about how the universe came into existence, we have a better solution for you. All you need is a short work break. Try lunch time.

Famous YouTube channel MinutePhysics has teamed up with the cosmologist to produce an eight-minute video where he explains everything from the Big Bang and the bizarre period of cosmic inflation that immediately followed, right up through the formation of Earth and the downfall of dinosaurs that allowed awesome mammals to take over the planet.

Despite having no time to spare, Tyson even manages to get into the nitty-gritty of how the forces that hold the universe together came to be — this is as deep as you can dive into some serious physics in just a few minutes. Tyson also walks us through the beginning of space and time as it “gurgled into a spongy, foam-like form” to the human age and how “every one of our bodies’ atoms are traceable to the Big Bang.” It all might sound like a lot to take in eight minutes, but don’t worry: this is quite accessible, and it’s a good primer on the nature of… well, everything.

But the video’s real star is animator Henry Reich, whose visuals turn a hard-to-grasp topic into one that’s playful and entertaining. The video clip is set to Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird suite, a fitting soundtrack for a quick astrophysics lesson.

Check it out for yourself below and be enlightened.

H/T: YouTube

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