Video narration
If the Sun vanished, would Earth know right away-or would we freeze or fly off at once? The Sun can't vanish this way under known physics, but imagine it as a thought experiment. Sunlight warming your skin has traveled from the Sun; it takes time to reach you. The change in the Sun's gravity takes the same time: about eight minutes and twenty seconds. Until then, Earth keeps getting sunlight and circling as usual. Nothing changes here. Then sunlight ends, and the Sun's pull no longer guides Earth. Earth doesn't stop or shoot away from the Sun. It keeps moving in the direction it was already traveling, along a straight path. And Earth doesn't freeze at once; without sunlight, it cools over time. So, would we notice right away? No. For about eight minutes, nothing; then Earth leaves its orbit and keeps moving straight.