All human beings tend to enjoy the Sun. Be it playing on the beach or soaking up sunlight by the pool side during summers, everyone loves the kind of warmth Sun offers. Even when the seasons change or temperatures begin to fall, just a ray of sunlight during a cold day can warm up the heart. Moreover, studies on the origin of life on Earth suggest that the planet’s perfect positioning in terms of its distance from Sun is a major factor in developing the energy for life on Earth.
But let’s just speculate for some time. What would happen if the sun disappears for 24 hours? Well, you would not come to know about it immediately for the first eight minutes at least. This is because light from the Sun takes about eight minutes to reach Earth. For this reason, you would see the sky all lit up still for another eight minutes after which everyone across the globe will find themselves in complete darkness. And what later? Below listed are some facts which researchers say would probably happen in the absence of the Sun for a day:
- Even though you may think it is dark, just like a regular night, the Moon will no longer be seen since there is no sunlight for it to reflect. No Sun! No Moon! Now all that you will be able to see is billions of stars, shining in the dark sky as the Sun isn’t there to outshine them.
- After one hour or so, panic will ensue on the Earth’s side where it was supposed to be daytime. The temperature will begin to fall down across the entire planet by several degrees. The surface of Earth will start to cool down slowly; though, the planet’s molten core will continue heating it from the inside. However, the greenhouse effect will keep the temperature from falling down too drastically, at least for first 24 hours.
- There would be power as well as communication outrages, resulting in issues with communication systems across the entire planet. Solar panels will be rendered obsolete. However, overall electricity will continue to function until the power goes out.
- Photosynthesis would stop within 24 hours. And quite soon, all creatures on Earth would begin facing difficulties due to diminishing oxygen in the atmosphere.
Although nobody can really know what would happen exactly if the Sun disappears for 24 hours or even further, but what’s certain is that life on Earth would not be possible without it.