Examples / Astronomy
What if the Sun suddenly vanished?
Drawn and explained by Sketchwise from this one question.
The explanation, step by step
1. Our star and our planet
Let's imagine something wild: what if the Sun suddenly disappeared? Hi! I'm the Sun, and I keep everything here warm, bright and in orbit. My pull bends Earth's path into a circle, once around every year.
2. The last light
Now, in a single instant, poof, the Sun is gone. But its last light is still racing outward at the speed of light. That light takes eight minutes to reach us, so for eight minutes, nobody notices. Gravity's news travels just as fast, so Earth keeps circling until that moment.
3. Flying off in a straight line
With nothing left to pull it, Earth stops curving around the empty middle. It flies off in a straight line, carrying the Moon along into the dark. The stars still shine, but they are far too distant to warm us.
4. A cold, dark Earth
Brr! Without the Sun, it's night everywhere, and it stays night forever. The heat drains away into space, and the temperature plunges week after week. Plants can't make food without sunlight, so they wilt, and so do animals. The oceans freeze over from the top, sealing in a lid of ice.
5. Life under the ice
Yet deep below, the ice acts like a blanket over the liquid ocean. Hot vents on the seafloor keep pouring out heat from Earth's own warm interior. Tube worms and tiny microbes live off that heat, and they could carry on for ages.
6. Thank your star
Don't worry, the Sun can't really vanish; it will shine for billions of years. So every sunrise, remember: I hold your world together and keep it alive!
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