The Cold Sun Paradox
Understanding how life on earth formed when the sun was cooler than it is today
The Earth’s formation had many phases, these phases sculpted our planet to its current state what we all know and live in. The phase this paradox originates is in the “Archean Eon” this was an era that started around 4 billion years ago this was just around when the Earth was formed and asteroids were less likely to collide with the Earth and the crust had cooled enough to permit the formation of the continents.
During this era, there was no free oxygen in the atmosphere but liquid water was available, and the temperature was almost what we experience today. The presence of liquid water allowed the formation of life in the form of single-celled organisms which in turn led to its evolution and thus life on Earth as we know it today.
The problem that puzzles scientists is how this was possible when the sun was far fainter than it is today meaning the sun was still in its infancy in a geological timescale and that it was now as bright or emitting as much light as it is today. This intensity was about 70% than the Sun’s brightness today.
This is quite important because if the Sun was as pale today as it was during the “Archean Eon,” then the global temperature would drop to about -20°C from the average…
