The Sun.
Sure, we enjoy the sun…a good sunny day is great for the soul.
Have you ever just stopped to enjoy the feeling of the sun on your back?
Sure.
Although we all appreciate the sun, I don’t think many of us stop to think how vital it
is to our existence and how it is the perfect size and distance away from us to support
life on earth.
But what if it wasn’t?
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions, the channel that not only looks
to investigate some serious issues, but also likes to indulge in fun little scientific
musings every now and then.
I am your host Rebecca Felgate and today I am asking What if the Sun Was Half As Big?
Many of you probably know that, if anything, the sun is getting bigger.
Right now our sun is 4.6 billion years old and is around its mid life cycle.
In 1.1 billion years from now, the sun will be 10% bigger and brighter as it begins its
end of life sequence.
In 5.4 Billion years, it will get even bigger and engulf Mercury, Venus and Mars…however
after the big show, it will shrink to a tenth of its size and cool down as a white dwarf.
But of course, the actual life cycle of our sun isn’t what we are talking about here,
we just want to have some fun and see what would happen if our mate the sun was just
like it is now, but half the size…a baby sun if you will.
Most people’s immediate thoughts will turn to the temperature.
And sure, it would be much colder if the sun was half the size, but really that is the
least of our worries.
The pressing issue would be that earth, the glorious ball on which we live, would be flung
into space!
Earth is drawn in by the gravity of the sun.
If the suns mass was halved, using Newton’s theory, the earth’s orbit speed would reach
escape velocity, which is not so great for the residents of earth.
If we did escape the suns gravitational pull, we would be space rogues, going it alone…which
sounds fun, but unless we’re drawn in by another star and quickly, we would all freeze
to death and die.
Of course, if we did continue as cosmic rogues, we could very well find ourselves smashing
into another planet in our solar system that has also been cut loose by our sun’s new
shrunken size.
Even if the sun’s gravitational pull did keep us in orbit, our orbit path and speed
would change, meaning days and years as we know it would change…not that we would necessarily
be alive to document them.
Life on earth is dependent on light and heat from the sun, and if we halved that then things
would be much colder and darker.
Water and land would likely freeze, meaning animals would die off.
It is possible that we humans could make preparations to tackle the cold, but I don’t imagine
they would last for long or benefit the majority of the human population.
Eventually, with the inability to farm or grow crops, we would die out too.
Hopefully we could stick around long enough to see the suns new colour!
The sun’s current light is determined by its size – smaller stars are redder in appearance
as they burn at a different rate.
At half the size, our sun would be classified as a Red Dwarf…perhaps we could all take
a leaf out of Dave Lister’s book.
Anyone get it?
Silver Swimming Certificates for all that do.
While it could be curtains for life on earth, a new day filled with life possibilities could
be dawning for Mercury, which would possibly find itself habitable as a result of the suns
new status.
Perhaps humans could switch their planned Manned Mars mission plans to get on over to
Mercury and start a new life…although if this whimsical sun’s shrinking act happens
suddenly, it seems unlikely that we could get a rocket off the ground with any haste.
Sure, we humans may die out… but I’d be interested to see what this new formation
meant for Mercury a few billion years down the line.
So, there we have it….that is what would happen if the sun was half its size!
Hopefully this has given you a good appreciation for our perfectly sized sun!
Let me know what you guys think to this question in the comments section down below….anyone
off to Mercury?
Thanks for tuning in for this question, make sure you stay subscribed for more answers!
I am your host Rebecc Felgate, I’ll catch you in the next video… but for now…stay
curious, stay alert and never ever stop questioning!