Could 'Terminator Zones' on Far Off Planets Harbor Life?

https://www.futurity.org/exoplanets-terminator-zone-alien-life-water-2892302/

by afrcnc • 3 years ago

14 6 3 years ago

Many gases and liquids would freeze and settle on the cold side of a tidal locked planet, wouldn’t they? The planet might slowly dry out

PaulHoule• 3 years ago

I think of Niven's "Known Space" series where they sent out interstellar probes to look for habitable places and found a bunch of planets that only had habitable spots, such as

https://larryniven.fandom.com/wiki/Plateau

m3kw9• 3 years ago

If there was weather patterns that blew winds from either side to the terminator zone it would be very unpleasant. Imagine artic winds except way colder or hotter

sliken• 3 years ago

Dunno, the earth often has a 140F degree range across it's surface, hell often 100F or so at the same point just different latitudes between 0 and 35,000 feet.

Doesn't seem that different for a tidally locked planet, sure the variation would be higher, but if the planet average is 60F (earth is 57F) being tidally locked doesn't seem like a death sentence, doubly so for aquatic life. Sure the most diverse areas might have large bodies of water nearby to help mitigate the swings, or be in canyons/near mountain ranges to avoid direct blasts of crazy hot or cold air.

I'd worry about all the water ending up on the cold side, but if dry enough sublimation would take over the water cycle.

bpm140• 3 years ago

Brian Lumley write a series of horror novels back in the 80s and 90s that had such a world.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necroscope_III:_The_Source Was written in 1989. Kind of cool.

B5C8ECB24DB47D1• 3 years ago

There is a small chapter in Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson where he depicts a train-like city moving along the terminator zone on Mercury (which rotates around its own axis very slowly).

Could 'Terminator Zones' on Far Off Planets Harbor Life?

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