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Asked: 2026-06-05T02:13:21+00:00

Is there a standard approach to storing datetimes in a database (PostgreSQL/MongoDB/Neo4j) that can

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Is there a standard approach to storing datetimes in a database (PostgreSQL/MongoDB/Neo4j) that can handle timescales down to a millisecond up to the age of the universe?

Some examples of times would be:

  • 13.7 billion years ago: origin of the universe
  • Photon epoch: Between 10 seconds and 380,000 years after the Big Bang (so 13.7 Billion years – 10 seconds ago)
  • 8,000 BCE: end of last ice age
  • 356 BCE: Alexander the Great’s birth

Is it possible to build an actual timeline of this scale. The examples above aren’t necessarily exact.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    If you need to store far past and far future times exactly

    Well, 13.7 billion years is about 432043200000000000000 milliseconds. That number requires 69 bits of storage, so I guess you are looking for an integer type with at least 70 bits (1 for the sign) if you want to store the times exactly. PostgreSQL doesn’t have one: you need to use NUMERIC instead.

    If you can accept loss of precision for far past and far future times

    Since the precise age of the universe isn’t known anyway, you can just use floating point numbers. With double floating point, if 0 represents the present, then times 13.7 billion years ago will only be precise to within about 20 seconds.

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