If the Sun stopped shining, how long would the Earth cool to Absolute Zero in a few days?

Answer 1

The Earth's atmosphere has some capacity to hold in heat but not much of one. A relatively simple calculation would show that the Earth's surface temperature would drop by a factor of two about every two months if the Sun were shut off. The current mean temperature of the Earth's surface is about 300 Kelvin (K). This means in two months the temperature would drop to 150K, and 75K in four months. To compare, the freezing point of water is 273K. So basically it'd get too cold for us humans within just a few weeks.

http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=656

But as for absolute zero, NASA states "The Earth cannot drop to Absolute Zero because the universe would keep it above 2.7 K. Without the Sun, the only energy to the surface of the Earth is the heat from it's own interior."

http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/ask/q2895.html

Answer 2

The Earth cannot drop to Absolute Zero because the universe would keep it above 2.7 K. Without the Sun, the only energy to the surface of the Earth is the heat from it's own interior. All you have to do is go down a kilometer or two and you are already up to a temperature of 140 F or more where deep diamond miners work. If the Sun went away, this would change only a slight amount as the Earth re-adjusts to a heat flow where the outer surface is no longer warmed by the Sun. My guess is that this heat flow is not enough to keep the earth above the freezing point of water, and that after perhaps a month or so, the latent solar heat stored in the oceans and crust would be exhausted. The temperature would stabilize probably somewhere below 200 K and be maintained thereafter by the heat flux from the Earth's interior for a few billion years.

Answer 3

There isn't anyplace in our universe where the temperature is absolute zero or 0k. The universe has a temperature of 2.7k. And the sun will not just stop shining one day. In about 5 billion years from now the sun will have burned up its fuel of hydrogen and will then expand into a red giant star that will consume earth and then the sun will contract into what is called a white dwarf star,

Answer 4

If the sun stopped shining we would probably all be dead, as that would probably result in a nova but, earth wouldn't be able to cool to absolute zero. It would get very cold, as the sun is our main sorce of heat but, it isn't our only one. The heat generated from the planets core would keep us from reaching absolute zero. However, the earth would still be a frozen mass. Also, the earth would begin to orbit Jupiter as would all the other planets.

Answer 5

Never.
Not even the deepest reaches of the Universe are at Absolute Zero.
The Boomerang Nebula is currently the coldest at 1 K.
Nice question though.

Answer 6

Earth would not cool to absolute zero. The core of earth is hot liquid magma. It will still stay hot without the sun.

Answer 7

Firstly, it wouldnt get to absolute zero, even interstellar space isn't that cold. but it'd get close to it. A few days is a good guess, going by how quickly the Earth cools at night.

There'd be a few hot spots, around geothermal areas that'd stay warm but you'd need to be very close to (or in) them.

Answer 8

12 hours

Answer 9

iamsmart2287, if you are so smart, figure it out yourself.