What if the Sun Vanished for a Day?

Imagine waking up and the sun’s just… gone. Pretty scary, right? Let’s think about what would happen to Earth if the sun disappeared for 24 hours.

First, a Delay: Still 8 Minutes of Light

The weird thing is, we would not even know it had occurred. Sunlight travels almost 8 minutes and 20 seconds before it reaches us. So, for those few minutes everything would seem normal. People would be attending to their usual agendas, not knowing what was waiting for them. Then, crash. Darkness.

Darkness

When the final ray of sunlight disappears, Earth would be in complete darkness. The moon? Vanished. Stars would be seen, but they would not provide much light. Life would freak out, in a major way.

Freezing 

Everything would cool down extremely, extremely quickly if the heat of the sun didn’t happen. Within a week or so, the average temperature could drop to near 0°F (-18°C). The air would lose its heat so fast that everywhere there’d be condensation of the water vapor into rain or snow. The oceans might start to freeze. No fun.

What About Plants and Animals?

Plants would not survive for long without sunlight since they need it to survive. If plants died, animals that feed on plants would starve, and animals that prey on those animals would also be affected.

Gravity Problems

This change would also play with gravity in the solar system. For about 8 minutes, Earth would continue orbiting like usual. After that, though, things would get pretty nuts. Planets would start floating all over the place, which can cause crashes and a messed-up solar system.

Peoples’ Panic

It would frighten people. Knowing that the sun, which is our source of light and heat, is simply gone would create a great deal of fear and panic. Even when the sun returned, people would be left rattled.

Final Thoughts

Basically, if the sun were to disappear for a day, we would be in big trouble. It would get dark and freezing, and the solar system could get messed up. It just goes to show how important the sun is for keeping everything on Earth alive and stable.

It really makes you appreciate the sun and how everything in the universe is connected.