Today, observers are recording an increasing number of solar flares. Their power, although it is customary, is sometimes intriguingly presented as "a powerful solar storm is expected." In this regard, experts and space enthusiasts around the world note that the most popular question for astronomy today is addressed as follows; what will happen on Earth if the sun goes out in the blink of an eye?
Before we start discussing the question of what life will be on Earth if our star one day disappears, let's immediately clarify the essence: In the absence of the Sun, our Earth and other planets will go beyond the solar system. They will no longer be held by the gravitational field of the star and, having lost their orbits, will begin to move towards the unknown of space.
According to well-known calculations, in our own Earth, we will not immediately understand and learn that our affectionate Sun has ceased to give life. We realize the trouble only 8 minutes later, during which the light emitted by the Sun, flying through space, reaches the Earth.
After this short period of time equal to 8 minutes, the planet will plunge into the chaos of eternal night. The absence of light will stop the process of photosynthesis, and this will be the beginning of the collapse of life on planet Earth.
All living organisms, with the exception of those living on the ocean floor, will die from lack of oxygen without photosynthesis. In addition, there will be a sharp drop in temperature, reaching a minimum of minus 66 degrees Celsius in the first year after the event. - That's right, the planet's water basins will begin to freeze through, eventually turning into ice to kilometer depths.
Without the Sun, can you survive in a shelter?
Fears of a possible catastrophe, which will not leave traces of humanity in the Universe, are often supported by various predictions, often without any basis other than fictional conclusions. Many, having serious funds, are trying to build seriously equipped and comfortable underground shelters to save their lives in the event of a disaster.
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But if you want to write an essay on what will happen to the Earth if the Sun disappears, then this can be summed up in a couple of phrases - the planet will fly into space and life will stop on it. Even shelters will not help you survive and save your life, if you consider the long term.
Yes, in a short period you will be able to sit underground for some time, but this is the life of a fly agaric languishing without light, where there is simply no future.
The shelter strategy is good and can work in the event of a nuclear winter, but the Sun will be there, and the Earth continues to revolve around its star. In the event of a loss of a star and the warming heat directed to it, the planet will become a frozen piece of earth, which, moving in space somewhere in time, is possible and "attached" to any star.
Can the planet be saved 24 hours before the disaster?
Researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Center have come up with a new way to predict space storms with an accuracy of 24 hours. Perhaps this method can save our planet from catastrophe, if the Sun suits the most real scenario of the apocalypse.
A coronal mass ejection is a large eruption of gas and highly magnetic solar material. A powerful avalanche of energy is thrown into space, and if it moves in the direction of the Earth, it can cause irreparable damage to satellites and navigation.
A high-power and oversaturated solar emission can cause an explosion of power grid transformers. As is well known, all our modern technologies are tied to electricity, so they will stop working. And of course, without electricity, cities will turn into vast areas of darkness without night street lighting.
Modern systems warn of this type of large storm at intervals of 30 to 60 minutes. This time is clearly not enough to take protective measures against the threat of a huge cloud of solar high-energy material.
However, a new tool to measure the magnetic orientation of solar emissions could provide time for some protective measures. “The tool can alert us more than a day in advance so we can deal with potential problems before it's too late,” said Neil Sawani, one of the researchers on the new technique.
According to the scientist, the measurement method is used by a number of observatories to track and model the evolution of the cloud during its path, as well as its trajectory. For example, if our beloved planet Earth may be in the path of a really strong cloud of plasma, then we will have time to prepare for this.
How long will the Sun live and what will be its spectacular end?
The sun is a mature young star that has lived for nearly half of its 10 billion years of existence and will continue to shine for at least another 4.5 billion years. Our star "emits a constant stream of energy," and in terms of global energy, its emission activity is "negligible" mass loss. However, this process is going on and one day the hydrogen will burn out, transferring the mechanism of work to helium and other heavier elements.
As a result of a constantly working process, after say 5000 million years, the energy balance inside the Sun will change dramatically and the star will begin to transform. Indeed, it will be an extremely beautiful and unthinkable sight - the Sun will expand to the orbit of Venus to become a red giant.
It will devour nearby planets, burn the Earth and, once full, will begin to cool down, turning into a dead white dwarf with a radius of a measly 10 kilometers. The remains of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will probably revolve around it.
The described process, according to the experts of the "sun", will take place in five billion years, and in this regard we have nothing to worry about. Today the Sun is in its main phase, maintaining "constant thermonuclear reactions in the interior", which are "its main source of energy."
Thus, the Sun is in "the longest stage of its development, which takes about 90%" of the life of a star, - explained, for example, Vladimir Kuznetsov, director of the Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism named after N. V. Pushkov of the Russian Academy of Sciences.