Jesse Steinmetz is a freelance reporter and public radio producer based in Massachusetts. His stories have covered everything from seaweed farmers to a minimalist smartphone company to the big business of online scammers and much more. His work has appeared in Inc.
It's quick and easy to access Live Science Plus, simply enter your email below. We'll send you a confirmation and sign you up for our daily newsletter, keeping you up to date with the latest science news.
An anomaly in Mars' mantle could trigger volcanoes to erupt — and may be causing the whole planet to spin fasterChinese lander reveals giant 'cavity' of radiation between Earth and the moon — and it could change how lunar exploration is doneWorld's oldest rock art, giant reservoir found beneath the East Coast seafloor, black hole revelations, and a record solar radiation stormThe world is being held hostage by its reliance on oil. How can we break free from the fossil fuel? A very long solar filament that had been snaking around the sun erupted with a flourish on Dec. 6, 2010.Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsSign up for the latest discoveries, groundbreaking research and fascinating breakthroughs that impact you and the wider world direct to your inbox.Feed your curiosity with an exclusive mystery every week, solved with science and delivered direct to your inbox before it's seen anywhere else.Sign up to our free science & technology newsletter for your weekly fix of fascinating articles, quick quizzes, amazing images, and moreSign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space movies, tv shows, games and books.Discover this week's must-see night sky events, moon phases, and stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us!The sun has been Earth's constant companion ever since our planet emerged. But if the sun were to suddenly disappear, what would happen to our home planet?formed about 4.6 billion years ago, when a massive spinning cloud of gas and dust collapsed in on itself and condensed, creating the biggest object in what would become ourto form Earth and the other rocky planets, including Mercury, Venus and Mars, as well as moons and asteroids. Since its formation, Earth has been heavily reliant on its star. The sun's gravitational pull keeps our planet in orbit in the"," the just-right distance from its star where it's not too hot or too cold for water to exist as a liquid on a planet's surface. The sun also drivesand water cycles, and it provides sunlight and heat, which influence our climate. Plus, the sun's ultraviolet light helps ourIf the sun suddenly vanished, Earth and the vast majority of life would be in dire straits. It would start"a ticking time bomb on the survival of every living thing on earth that relies on photosynthesis, which is the vast majority of surface life and all of humanity,"Then, the real trouble would begin. After the sun's eight-minute swan song, there would be"a sudden blackout," Cronin said. Without sunlight, artificial lighting from electricity, oil or gas would be the main ways we could still generate light, along withand fluorescence. We'd lose track of day and night. The moon, which reflects the sun's light, would go completely dark, although distant stars in the sky would still be visible. And without the sun's mass andkeeping the planets and other celestial bodies in orbit,"all the planets would fly off in the direction of their current travel," Cronin said. But humanity would have more immediate problems than flying off into interstellar space. No sunlight would mean crucial processes, such as growing food, would become much more complicated., a professor of planetary sciences and astronomy at George Mason University in Virginia, told Live Science. Most plants that weren't grown under artificial lighting would quickly suffer. And while some"might stay dormant for weeks to months, like they do in the wintertime, eventually all photosynthetic organisms would die." Fungi, meanwhile, feed on living or dead matter, and"there would be a great deal of dead material available," Summers said. So fungi likely wouldn't die from a lack of food, but from the cold.It wouldn't take long for frigid temperatures to change the Earth as we know it. At first, Earth would cool by an average of roughly 36 F every 24-hour period, Summers said."That plunges almost the whole world into subfreezing temperatures within just two to three days," although as it got colder, the temperature change per day would decrease, he said. Small ponds might freeze over within a week, whereas lakes might take weeks or months. The oceans could persist"for many years, maybe decades," and in certain places, like"the deepest parts of the oceans where you have volcanoes, they might stay liquid for potentially as long as the volcanoes last," Summers said."And that could be billions of years.". Right now, Pluto is"about 40 times as far from the sun as Earth is, and the temperature there now is about minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit ," Summers said."Once you eject the Earth out of our solar system, it's going to get much further away than Pluto very quickly." Pluto, seen here with its moon Charon in a composite and colorized image taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, is a frigid minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit because it's so far from the sun. Earth could get even colder than Pluto if the sun suddenly disappeared.that happened around 13.8 billion years ago. Even"the lowest temperatures in the universe are limited by heat that's left over from the Big Bang," Summers said."Take any object very far away from a star and let it cool for a million years," and it will still remain a few degrees above absolute zero. The temperature of the leftover radiation known as the At an ultracold temperature, human civilization and most of life would almost certainly collapse."It's conceivable that people could survive underground in caves, sustained by geothermal or nuclear energy, with plants grown under artificial lighting," Cronin said,"but this would be an, also known as water bears."Ugly little critters," Summers said, but"hard to kill." They can be zapped with radiation or immersedand still survive; perhaps hitting them with a hammer would kill them, he suggested."Otherwise, they're pretty much one of the hardiest forms of life on Earth." It's likely that tardigrades, seen here in a colorized scanning electron micrograph, could survive in the event of the sun's sudden disappearance.Fortunately for humanity, there is no reason to believe the sun will vanish in the blink of an eye. Over time, however, the sun will die. It will continue to create heat and light for another, but once its fuel runs out, it will expand into a red giant, swallowing Mercury and Venus and perhaps Earth. Regardless, humans likely won't last that long; the sun's gradual increase in brightness isWhile those impacts may be a long way away, Summers said it's important to consider the potential outcomes. When"we understand more about stars and how they can change over time, on short timescales and on long timescales, we understand the universe better."Jesse Steinmetz is a freelance reporter and public radio producer based in Massachusetts. His stories have covered everything from seaweed farmers to a minimalist smartphone company to the big business of online scammers and much more. His work has appeared in Inc. Magazine, Duolingo, CommonWealth Beacon, and the NPR affiliates GBH, WFAE and Connecticut Public, among other outlets. He holds a bachelors of arts degree in English at Hampshire College and another in music at Eastern Connecticut State University. When he isn't reporting, you can probably find him biking around Boston.Rivers & OceansOur fossil fuel economy is a house of cards and Trump's war in Iran is about to topple it. The need for a clean energy transition has never been clearer.DNA shed by every living thing is lurking in the environment — and it could tell us how Earth is changing in real timeIran war has already released a staggering amount of CO2 — and the destruction of schools, homes and buildings is the biggest sourceDNA shed by every living thing is lurking in the environment — and it could tell us how Earth is changing in real timeHere's the stargazing gear you need for April 2026 — don't miss the Lyrids, two comets and the full moonRare star spotted in its original galaxy could answer a key question about the ingredients of life: Space photo of the week NASA announces moon base, Iran war releases staggering carbon, why weed gives people munchies, and Artemis II preps for liftoff.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Salt & Straw to serve 'waste less' flavors to celebrate Earth MonthIn celebration of Earth Month, Salt & Straw will release a set of flavors highlighting the importance of sustainability and reducing food waste.
Read more »
Arctic sea ice hits lowest winter level as unprecedented heat hits smashes records all over EarthArctic sea ice has shrunk to a tie for its lowest winter peak on record.
Read more »
Tech and Science Bound for Low Earth OrbitTechnology and science demonstrations, supported by various NASA industry collaborations and agency developments, are set to launch to low Earth orbit aboard
Read more »
Arctic sea ice hits lowest winter level as unprecedented heat smashes records all over EarthThe Associated Press
Read more »
Today in History: March 28, Jesse Owens posthumously awarded Congressional Gold MedalPresident George H.W. Bush posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the late Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals in track at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Read more »
No hospitals in space: Astronaut details health scare above EarthJustin Boggs is a writer for the E.W. Scripps company. Justin covers anything from politics to sports and entertainment.
Read more »