What effect would take place to the earth if the sun stopped rotating?

davejacobs

If you can say by what physical means the rotation of the sun were to be stopped, then perhaps the question might be answered. If it were by magic, then who knows? Depends on the magician I suppose. At a simple level though, there should be no effect on the planets' orbits; the mass of the sun at the center of the solar system would presumably stay the same. May 08 10, 9:51 AM

looney_tunes

Solar rotation does not affect orbits, amount of sunlight, length of day, seasons, etc. These are all produced by the rotation of a planet on its axis, the tilt of that axis to the ecliptic, its orbital position as it revolves around the sun, etc. These aspects would be influenced if the sun's mass (hence its gravitational force) were to change, but rotation does not affect the centre of mass. (This assumes we actually understand how gravity works!) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_rotation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Season http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day May 08 10, 8:29 PM