If the Sun died, how long would it take for humans (and other living things) on earth to die out?

Carnivore 69 wrote:

8 minutes after the sun went out, we would see it go out.

We would probably be at -200F within 24 hours, and at -400F within 48 hours.

So I would say less than one day.

Mans got a point we'd be dead pretty quick.

8 months, 4 days.

Without the sun we would lose our atmosphere in a few months. We would die in a day or so anyhow, due to the cold. Any subterrainian dwellers somehow using geothermal heat would also die, just later. They would not be able to sustain an organic ecosystem.

None of us should be having children because eventually our lineage will confront the death of the sun. That will be a rough day

I blame George Bush for making the sun go out.

If the moon was made of spare ribs, would you eat it?

It's a simple question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haAhdtDmsOw

It wouldn't be pitch dark because we'd still have light from the moon ...

Interesting question posed on Letsrun! Here's my answer... If you put a steamy cup of coffee in the refrigerator, it wouldn’t immediately turn cold. Likewise, if the sun simply “turned off” (which is actually physically impossible), the Earth would stay warm—at least compared with the space surrounding it—for a few million years. But we surface dwellers would feel the chill much sooner than that.

Within a week, the average global surface temperature would drop below 0°F. In a year, it would dip to –100°. The top layers of the oceans would freeze over, but in an apocalyptic irony, that ice would insulate the deep water below and prevent the oceans from freezing solid for hundreds of thousands of years. Millions of years after that, our planet would reach a stable –400°, the temperature at which the heat radiating from the planet’s core would equal the heat that the Earth radiates into space, explains David Stevenson, a professor of planetary science at the California Institute of Technology.

Although some microorganisms living in the Earth’s crust would survive, the majority of life would enjoy only a brief post-sun existence. Photosynthesis would halt immediately, and most plants would die in a few weeks. Large trees, however, could survive for several decades, thanks to slow metabolism and substantial sugar stores. With the food chain’s bottom tier knocked out, most animals would die off quickly, but scavengers picking over the dead remains could last until the cold killed them.

Humans could live in submarines in the deepest and warmest parts of the ocean, but a more attractive option might be nuclear- or geothermal-powered habitats. One good place to camp out: Iceland. The island nation already heats 87 percent of its homes using geothermal energy, and, says astronomy professor Eric Blackman of the University of Rochester, people could continue harnessing volcanic heat for hundreds of years.

Of course, the sun doesn’t merely heat the Earth; it also keeps the planet in orbit. If its mass suddenly disappeared (this is equally impossible, by the way), the planet would fly off, like a ball swung on a string and suddenly let go.

Oregon grad wrote:

It wouldn't be pitch dark because we'd still have light from the moon ...

Please don't be serious...this is Letsrun so I have to ask...:)

More fun read'n:

As far as temperature goes...don't forget we do have hot magma below us. We're not just a rock like the moon.

Temperature would be the least of our worries...

We can survive in pretty cold environments. Eventually the global temperature would become too low to sustain an oxygen rich atmosphere. Of course without the sun all plants would die off pretty quickly. No plants, no oxygen. Either way, we'd all basically choke to death. Fun times.

Alan

Or better yet, if the earth suddenly disappeared, how long would the sun survive? Oh wait, never mind ...

Totally depends on the amount of time we're given to prepare. With absolutely no warning only the handful of people lucky enough to have access to food and heat sources (and perhaps most importantly a means to defend them) would survive. But even the vast majority of this tiny minority would probably die within a few months due to a lack of food. I'm sure some lucky and resourceful bastards would make it at least a few years, but probably nothing left after 10.

Now if we knew this was coming it would be, from a technical standpoint, trivial to build habitats capable of supporting life for at least tens of years. The vast majority of our power sources today require no direct input from the sun, and there is enough fuel to last thousands of years...fossil fuels and fission being the biggest ones. These power sources could easily provide heat and artificial light for the growing of crops. The greatest obstacle here would be the chaos and violence that would probably follow news that the sun was going to disappear...obviously there wouldn't be room for most in these little bubbles of life so the people getting left out would be a bit upset.

It would take 8 minutes, thats how long it takes sunlight/ heat from the sun to hit the earth you retarded f*%ks.

Oregon grad wrote:

It wouldn't be pitch dark because we'd still have light from the moon ...

Wow. Just wow.

bloob wrote:

Oregon grad wrote:

It wouldn't be pitch dark because we'd still have light from the moon ...

Wow. Just wow.

you just got yourself trolled by someone. wow. just wow.

Just a quick note about light from the moon. The moon does not produce it's own light, it merely reflects light from the sun. So, it would be pitch dark.

Oregon grad wrote:

It wouldn't be pitch dark because we'd still have light from the moon ...

When the skies were clear, the stars would be very bright, and the lack of most of that stuff causing pollution would soon make the sky crystal clear when it was cloudless.

ruuuuunftw wrote:

some places dont see sun all year, and scientists survive there in huts

Wait, what? There are scientists in huts on the dark side of the moon?

middle professor wrote:

ruuuuunftw wrote:

some places dont see sun all year, and scientists survive there in huts

Wait, what? There are scientists in huts on the dark side of the moon?

Aint no dark side. Only a far side. And he stopped writing years ago.

Dr. James Thiutus wrote:

Of course, the sun doesn’t merely heat the Earth; it also keeps the planet in orbit. If its mass suddenly disappeared (this is equally impossible, by the way), the planet would fly off, like a ball swung on a string and suddenly let go.

True enough. On the other hand it doesn't seem relevant. This would be imperceptible to most folks and have no practical impact on life on earth.

I wonder if runners would survive longer?