At the exact moment that the Sun disappeared, we would have no idea because it takes light from the sun, 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach earth. So, for a little over 8 minutes after the sun disappeared, we would have no idea. Once we did, confusion and mass panic would, most likely, ensue. The sun's gravitational grasp on our planet would also take 8 minutes and 20 seconds to end. So, the very moment we saw our Sun disappear, we would also lose gravitational influence, and earth would fly out in a straight line, tangent to wherever it was in its orbit. The finite speed of light and gravity mean that as panic and fear across the earth. At the loss of our sun, we could still, for a while, look up into the sky and see our planetary buddies, further out, continuing to operate as if nothing had happened. For instance, Jupiter would continue orbiting and reflecting the light from a sun that no longer excisted from about 30 minutes after Earth already knew the Sun was Gone. And depending on when Jupiter was in its orbit, it would take another 30 minutes to an hour for us to watch the reflected light of Jupiter snuff out. With no moonlight or sunlight, the universe, itself, would be our only source of visible light from space. In 2004, Abdul Ahad calculated that the Milky Way contributes about as much as 1/300th of a full moon. So there would be enough light from space for us to see around a bit. But, of course electriciy and fossil fuels would still be usable for a while. So, cities and towns could continue to be lit by manmade sources, just like a typical night; except, it would be night everywhere. Photosynthesis would stop immediatly, and this is huge. And 99,9% of the natural poductivity on Earth is done by photosynthesis, which requires the Sun. Without the Sun, plants would no longer be able to inhale carbon dioxide and exhale life-sustaining oxygen. But don't worry. Collectively, all of us humans, all 7 billion of us, breath in about 6,000,000,000,000 kg every year. But our atmosphere contains a whopping quintillion kilos of oxygen. So, even without photosynthesis, and, including all the other animals, and insects and microorganism that consume oxygen, it would take us thousands of years to run out. The poor plants, themselves, would be much worse off. Without the Sun, most of them would die within days, or weeks, Except for large plants. Giants trees, for instance, contain enough sugar for energy that could technically live in the dark for years. Their problem is going to be that the Earth will get quite cold. In fact, mighty trees would freeze to death. Their blood, the water and sap inside of them, solidify way before they died of starvation. Right now, with our sun, the average surface tempature on Earth, hot places and cold places, and different seasons all considered is an arguably comfortable 14 to 15 degrees celsius. Without the Sun to add energy, the earth would radiate away heat exponentially- meaning, it would go fast at first, and then happen more and more slowly. By the end of the first week without the sun, the average surface tempature across earth would be freezing. Zer Celsius, 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, tempature's like this happen all the time on earth- we're used to it. Panic, and Fear, and looters, and anarchy aside, for the first few days, or months, we could get by. But, by the end of the first year without the sun, the average global surface tempature would be -73 degrees Celsius, -100 Fahrenheit. The best option, really, would be to moe to geothermal areas like Yellowstone or Iceland. These places would be the few safe havens for human life after the sun. Nearly all life on Earth exists because of, and is depedent upon, extraterrestrial energy : The Sun. But the earth produces its own heat. Despite floating in the coldness of space for billion of years, down below the crust the Earth is quite warm. 20% of this warmth came from the fact that when the Earth formed, mass crushed so tightly in the middle that the pressure liquified rock. The other 80% of Earth's internal heat comes from the fact that deep in its core, radioactive elements decay, providing the energy need to peek the Earth's core at 5000 degrees celsius. Anyone who failed to secure a position within one of these bastions of warmth, or perhaps underground in a community warmed and powered by nuclear fuel, would likely be dead within first year of no Sun. In the next 10-20 years things would start to get wet with dew. But not with glorious water droplets. Instead, droplets of liquid air. The air would literally become cold enough for the gasses that make it up to condense or form clouds and precipitate, first as rain, and then as it god colder and colder, eventually as snow. A year or so after the sun disappeared, Earth's oceans will have forzen over. Ice all the way across. But ice is less dense than liquid water, which means that ice floats, And, ice is a pretty decent insulator. So, for billions of years after the sun disappeared, liquid water could still exist at the bottom of our oceans, protected and insulated from space by miles of ice above it, and warmed by vents of the ocean floor that spew water out, super heated by Earth's interior. This would continue on Earth for a very, very long time- Sun, or no Sun. Instead of becoming frozen and lifeless, extremophiles, like microbes, that live around hydrothermal vents deep in the ocean, would be fine. They live deep in the ocean, far below the point where sunlight can penetrate, and they make energy not through photosynthesis, but via chemosynhesis- converting heat, and methan, and sulfer into the energy they need. They are then eaten by clams and tubeworms. EXtremophiles deposit minerals back into the vents, meaning that their food chain is complete. It's a circle, It's independent of the sun. Earthlings like them would thrive if the sun were to disappear. They would live just fine without every knowing that the sun was GONE. Or, honestly, without ever even knowing it excisted in the first place. It's amazing to think that life, here on earth, all alone, flying through space with no sun, would king of be fine. Far from becoming a frozen dead rock, or a boring dormant seed, the Earth would be a spaceship, carrying living passengers with enough geothermal heat for BILLIONS OF YEARS OF LIFE. If the sun disappeared, spaceship Earth would fly out in a straight line covering about 30 km every single second. After just 1 billion years, it will have covered 900 quadrillion km, or about 100,000 lightyears- a trip that could potentially take it all the way across our galaxy, near thousands of stars, and nothing's to say it couldn't fall into orbit around one, thaw out, and allow its still-living extremophiles to proliferate life on Earth all over again- maybe one day developing life intelligent enough to uncover whatever is left of our lives.


IF YOU WERE SERIOUSLY ABLE TO READ THROUGH ALL THAT, YOU DESSERVE A MEDAL FOR HAVING EYES OF STEEL, M8.