Assuming an earth-like planet, with oceans and similar weather processes, I think even then the dark side would be very cold. With an atmosphere to moderate the weather, it likely wouldn't experience the extremes of the Moon or Mercury, but relative to our (human) needs for comfort, I still think the dark hemisphere would be cold. Consider how on earth a relatively small change in incoming radiation causes very large temperature swings. (Oh-oh, an oblique reference to global warming - unintended, I promise.) I know some science fiction writers have postulated that life on a planet that is tidally-locked with its parent star would likely inhabit a very narrow "ring" in the twilight zone between the fully-illuminated hemisphere (too hot) and the fully-dark hemisphere (too cold). Would be an interesting place to visit. Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+kimharch=cut.net@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+kimharch=cut.net@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 6:51 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Question On Recently Discovered Planet That all depends on the atmosphere. If thick enough, and convective, it could actually be quite warm on the night side. On 5/23/07, Dunn, David <david.dunn@albertsons.com> wrote:
If the planet has the same face towards its star, it would always be light on that half of the planet and dark on the other side. Its day (one revolution on its axis would be the same as its year (one orbit around its star), 14 earth days. I suspect that it would be cold on the dark side of the planet.
Dave
-----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+david.dunn=albertsons.com@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+david.dunn=albertsons.com@mailman.xmissio n.com] On Behalf Of baxman2@comcast.net Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 6:12 PM To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Question On Recently Discovered Planet
I have a question on the recently discovered Earth-Like Planet. It is suppose to orbit its sun once every 14 Earth days. It is also suppose to have the same face to its sun, as it orbits it. That would mean on average that its daytime would be 7 Earth days, and its nightime would be 7 Earth days. On the daytime side, temperatures are comparable to Earth-like springtime temperatures. But how cold would the planet get during its nightime period? I realize that temperatures could vary by latitude.
Sincerely,
J. David Baxter baxman2@comcast.net _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com
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