Phase: Interphase
Flat top-down view of a human-like cell running through the mitotic sequence: prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase, before splitting into two daughters. Mitosis itself spans roughly 1 hour of the ~24h cell cycle: prophase (chromatin condenses, nuclear envelope breaks down), metaphase (chromosomes line up on the equatorial plate — the shortest phase), anaphase (spindle fibers pull sister chromatids apart, the fastest phase), and telophase (two new nuclei reform). This simulation uses 6 simplified chromosomes in place of the real 46 (23 pairs), but the choreography mirrors the real process.