- #1
halfelven
- 10
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Okay, so planets in the Goldilocks zone are far enough from the star that it's less likely they are tidally locked. But assuming such a thing exists - shouldn't the habitable zone be wider if the planet is tidally locked to its star?
At one extreme, the planet would have an Antarctica-sized area with liquid water under the bright spot, and frozen solid everywhere else; that should be enough to sustain life. At the other extreme, there would be a mild temperate area on the dark spot, and a steamy inferno everywhere else.
It seems to me these extremes would correspond to an orbital zone wider than the one required by fast-spinning planets. Is my intuition wrong?
At one extreme, the planet would have an Antarctica-sized area with liquid water under the bright spot, and frozen solid everywhere else; that should be enough to sustain life. At the other extreme, there would be a mild temperate area on the dark spot, and a steamy inferno everywhere else.
It seems to me these extremes would correspond to an orbital zone wider than the one required by fast-spinning planets. Is my intuition wrong?