Author: Allie Nava
They say your life flashes before you as you fold into the arms of death, and perhaps that is what happened to me when I lost those eight minutes and twenty seconds.
I was a child peddling gleeful “whee’s” on a red bicycle, over a calming ocean of green hillocks. I was an adolescent pulling weeds, while inhaling rose and tangerine under a relentless yellow sun. I was a violinist sipping scalding tomato soup, alone, amidst a sea of fellow musicians taking their rehearsal breaks. That is, until someone pointed to the distant mountaintops and asked why I too was not heading in that direction.
I was an adolescent that packed my gear and walked in stride for years. I stumbled now and then, as if in a child’s jump rope game that had aimed to trip me. But I found my footing and reached the apex, even before some of the other mountaineers. I lived there many years and became productive, and a family grew before my eyes. But soon my hair turned gray and betrayed me, without remorse.
I was an adult who bid farewell and climbed down from the mountaintop and arrived to a reflecting pond at the foot of the hills. I imbibed sweet jasmine from flowering bushes. I held golden wheat berries past their harvest. I wondered what had happened to my violin and my garden and my bicycle.
I sat down and closed my eyes and drew my breath. I lost all sensation in my extremities, and I floated on the clouds, my body above the ocean. I had returned home to my intended destination, but wondered why I had walked so far away only to return to the path I knew was true.
Now it didn’t matter. My last eight minutes and twenty seconds were up, and so were everyone else’s. The whole planet had gone dark. We had lost our sun. It had taken eight minutes and twenty seconds for us to realize – the time it took for light to travel to our planet. And within a few days the temperatures were going to drop precipitously, and few humans would survive.
I definitely felt emotional reading this. You conveyed so well how the well-being of the climate is a human struggle at its core. I also felt the piece was very relatable to me in many parts, for example, I found the metaphor of life as climbing a mountain, and how sometimes there are stumbles but we always get back up and continue, to be beautiful. I especially loved the beautiful imagery of the reflecting pool at the end of one’s life. Thank you for writing this.
Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT what temperature the Earth’s surface would reach in this scenario. This is the response:
If the Sun were to suddenly disappear, it would have a catastrophic impact on Earth’s temperature and climate. The Sun is the primary source of heat for our planet, and without it, temperatures would drop rapidly.
Here’s what would happen in the immediate aftermath:
Loss of Solar Radiation: The most immediate effect would be the loss of solar radiation, which provides heat and light to Earth. Within about 8 minutes and 20 seconds (the time it takes for light to travel from the Sun to Earth), the planet would be plunged into darkness.
Temperature Drop: Without the Sun’s heat, the Earth’s surface temperature would start to drop rapidly. The exact rate of cooling would depend on various factors, including the initial temperature, atmospheric conditions, and heat retention properties of the surface.
Freezing of Surface Water: Water bodies like lakes and rivers would start freezing relatively quickly, especially in colder regions. This would further exacerbate the cooling process.
Atmospheric Cooling: As the Earth’s surface cools, it would also cool the atmosphere. The drop in temperature would cause the atmosphere to contract and lose its ability to retain heat efficiently.
Extreme Cold: In a matter of days or weeks, surface temperatures would likely drop to levels that are inhospitable to most life forms. The exact temperature would depend on many factors, but it could reach hundreds of degrees below freezing.
Ongoing Cooling: Over time, Earth would continue to cool, approaching the temperature of outer space, which is nearly absolute zero (-273 degrees Celsius or -459 degrees Fahrenheit). However, the process of cooling would be slowed down by factors like heat from radioactive decay in the Earth’s core and residual heat in the planet’s interior.
Survival Underground: Life could potentially survive deep underground, where temperatures would remain relatively stable due to geothermal heat from the Earth’s interior. However, even this would not be a long-term solution, as resources would eventually run out.
It’s important to note that this scenario is purely hypothetical, as the sudden disappearance of the Sun is not physically possible based on our current understanding of the laws of physics. The Sun’s gravitational influence on Earth and the solar radiation it provides are essential for our planet’s existence.
In reality, if something were to happen to the Sun, it would likely be a gradual process, such as the Sun running out of fuel and transitioning into a red giant, which would have its own dramatic but slower effects on Earth’s climate and temperature.