noon
The party had only that which Andy had smoked over the fire . But this was easily carried and their packs were not heavy when they prepared to leave the camp as soon after sunset as the frost would allow . The terrific change from the heat of midsummer to the cold of midwinter , and all within something near twenty-four hours , was hard indeed to bear . The professor calculated that the drop in temperature from high noon was , two hours after sunset , exactly seventy degrees Fahrenheit . `` Human life will become extinct upon this fragmentary planet , if nothing further happens to it , in a very few years , '' he said , thoughtfully . `` We are not attuned to such frightful changes . '' They had eaten , and had packed their supplies .