The Backstory. How the end started.
There had been in increase in the number of auroras observed. They were bright, brighter than ever seen before and were even visible during the day. The auroras were also being observed more frequently at lower latitudes which would have been considered rare in the past since they were known to only occur at higher latitudes. This was all very unusual but many thought nothing of it. But as quickly as the auroras came, they left. Not a single aurora has been observed since then. It was not three years later that a theory surfaced that the irregular behavior of the auroras observed was a foreshadowing of a waning magnetosphere.
The Earth had been experiencing an acceleration in planetary cooling which eventually led to the weakening of its magnetic field. It is known that this magnetic field is what creates the magnetosphere and without it, the magnetosphere that protects Earth from the Sun’s solar winds would slow disappear. This was also the reason auroras were no longer observed. The lack of a magnetosphere meant no auroras could be produced. The lack of auroras however would be the least of mankind’s problems.
Solar winds from the Sun are not uncommon and Earth was never significantly affected by the winds but that was when the magnetosphere was still present. As the magnetosphere slowly disappeared, solar winds began to strip away Earth’s atmosphere. The charged particles (electrons, protons, etc.) in the solar wind were ridding the atmosphere of water vapor and carbon dioxide. It was taking away the very thing that made Earth habitable.
The lack of an atmosphere means heat is no longer retained around the planet, temperatures will start dropping drastically beyond freezing point. All remaining bodies of water (whatever has not been removed by the solar winds) will freeze entirely. Water will no longer be readily available in the liquid form (much like it is on Mars now). When temperatures drop, you might expect hail or snow but that would not be the case. Rain, snow, hail will never be formed. Think climate of Antarctica but without the snow and ice, it would just be dry land and the cold, like a desert. Global warming would start looking like a favorable thing here.
Air will become scarce and air pressure drops, and finally no oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen or any gas will be present on Earth. Breathing will become almost impossible on Earth. In short, try to imagine what would happen if right now there was no air, no carbon dioxide and you could no longer breath normally, you will start gasping for air, cyanosis of the face occurs, your pulse rate increases until you final cave in and suffocate. And that is longer the tip of the iceberg. The ozone will be destroyed making Earth susceptible to ultraviolet rays that decomposes water molecules and not to mention the effects of UV rays on living things. Long term exposure or high levels of radiation would probably lead to genetic mutation that could be passed on through generations, disease would be imminent.
As of today, Earth is without a magnetic field, no magnetosphere and is left the remnants of atmospheric gas waiting to be swept away by the next wave of solar winds. Cloud watching would be a thing of the past because they no longer form and the sky no longer carries any colour, be it blue during the day or red during a sunset, colourless. Should you survive the harsh conditions for any reason and were to look up to sky, you would be staring straight into the depths of space and be faced with darkness speckled with distant stars and neighbouring planets. Stars would not ‘twinkle’ defying the nursery rhyme you grew up hearing because the atmosphere is missing. During the day, you will be faced with the full face of the sun against a black sky. Life would never thrive or even survive on a planet like this.
Additional character information
A brief description of your character’s appearance as well as their temperament.
Whether your character is left or right handed.
