How quick would we know.

So recently i was writing about how insignificant we are.
and i trapt my self in a question.
Now I'v been told that if the sun were too go "out",
We wouldn't have a clue for at least 8 minutes cause all the heat is still on it's way to us.
Now if the sun were to say explode, or some how loose all its mass, or something knocks it out our orbit, Would we not feel anything for 8 minutes.
It is conception that nothing is faster then light and if the light takes 8 minutes to travel to us would that mean that if the sun was to disappear would the actions of gravity and physics move slower then the speed of light, or would we go right off orbit and freeze to death instantly.
Thank you, I wrote this in a rush,
I look forward to your idas.

reply to post by tribaltrip


I think we would know soon after maybe about 20 minutes or so since it travels slower than the speed of light as far as life I would think Earth would freeze solid in about 3 or 4 days and most life would be gone within a week

[edit on 2-12-2008 by SLAYER69]

An interesting question.

If the sun "blew up", we would be killed due to the explosion itself and/or the violent and complete vaporization of the Earth.

If the sun just disappeared, I think the gravitational effect would be instant, and without "the hub", I think the Earth would just go flying off at a tangent to the last point of gravitational contact on its orbit. Whether or not it would be a "straight" or "arced" trajectory, I can not say. Regardless of trajectory, we would die from the cold, cosmic radiation (I think), and probably many other things.

Originally posted by prototism
If the sun just disappeared, I think the gravitational effect would be instant, and without "the hub", I think the Earth would just go flying off at a tangent to the last point of gravitational contact on its orbit. Whether or not it would be a "straight" or "arced" trajectory, I can not say. Regardless of trajectory, we would die from the cold, cosmic radiation (I think), and probably many other things.

Yep. If the Sun exploded (which it does all the time, really), its mass would still be there for a while until it dissipated, warping spacetime with gravity, and we would continue on our merry way for about 10 minutes, or whenever the first blast wave hit. It would be traveling at less than the speed of light, so we'd see the explosion first, approximately 8 minutes and 18 seconds after it happened, then we'd have to wait for the shock wave to pound and fry us to a crisp.

If the Sun just magically "vanished" somehow, then its mass would be gone, and we'd immediately sail out of our circular orbit on a straight line from whatever we were when the sun vanished -- like a hammer throw in the Olympics. We'd continue to see the sunlight for about 8 minutes and 18 seconds, then everything would go black except starlight. No more planets to be seen, since that is reflected light. After that, it would probably only take a few days to a week for everything to die.

Great posts from all of you.
But with regards to whole projectory Sp?
If the sun did vanish, And there was no mass to orbit.
would we go off course instantly or still follow our path until everything caught up. its really hard to get your mind around.

reply to post by tribaltrip


It is mostly believed that the "speed of gravity" is equal to the speed of light (although there are some physicists who dispute this). Thereofre it would take 8 minutes before the Earth "flies off into space" after to the disappearance of the Sun.