Tidally Locked Exoplanets and Habitability

[sojourner]

^Raging storms I would imagine.

 

[KJbushway]

Ok so not a vacation spot. got it.

 

[Glitch]

Hollowed out asteroids are the way to go. If your biosphere is giving you issues, build your own.

 

[KJbushway]

Yeah. Always a possibility. Asteriods could even be used as ships. Saves cost of having to actually build a whole one.

 

[scotthm]

Asteriods could even be used as ships. Saves cost of having to actually build a whole one.

A whole what--ship? I don't know that propelling an asteroid around the galaxy would be cheaper than building a ship.

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[Glitch]

Well, if you wanted a long-term generation ship, a hollowed out asteroid will do all right. For a space habitat, it works kind of like a trailer home. You can move it any place you want, generally speaking, and you don't have to worry about the hazards of living on a planet. The downside lies in being known as "asteroid belt trash", but hey, whatever.

 

[KJbushway]

Asteriods could even be used as ships. Saves cost of having to actually build a whole one.

A whole what--ship? I don't know that propelling an asteroid around the galaxy would be cheaper than building a ship.

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Yeah I a whole ship, which I clearly put in my post. But never mind that.

Well Asteroid already has air tight spaces. all you have to do is grab one and move it into a stationary orbit. Get drilling teams to come out and drill into it making rooms and spaces. It would take far less time and cash.

 

[sojourner]

Asteroids are not known for having airtight spaces built in. Your premise is wrong. The benefit of using an asteroid is that a lot of the raw materials are already in place. You build your "ship" into the asteroid with the idea that you have built in spare material should you need it on your journey. Not that it would be an easier or cheaper ship to build.

 

[KJbushway]

Yeah what he said. ^

 

[Maxillius]

I thought it might be possible to live on a tidally locked planet if you kept your settlements on the terminator between the day side and night side. Or is that just sci-fi wishful thinking?

One of the planets mentioned in the original Foundation series was like that. I want to say it was in the Second Foundation book, but may be mistaken. Always thought it was a neat idea...

Cheers,
-CM-

Rossem, and it is Second Foundation.

As for atmosphere and survivability on the night side, I think it's far more likely night side visits would be non-lethal than day-side. Both sides would be moderated by the atmosphere of the opposite side, but there would be extremes. If Earth was tidally locked, I think the day side "high noon" at the equator would be over 150* F and night side "midnight" would likely be -150* F. The likely habitable zone would be from about 5am-10am and 2pm-7pm, +/- based on tilt. The lit pole would likely be a much more pleasant place to be.

 

[Snaploud]

It looks like this planet might be more habitable than first thought...

There are no days on Gliese 581d; one side is perpetually light and one side is perpetually dark. People thought this would mean that the night side would be perpetually frozen. But a new study by the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique at the Institute Pierre Simon Laplace found that because of the local star's red light that penetrates deep into the heavy carbon atmosphere, the planet regulates heat quite well. Downside: It will always be a sort of red-hued dusk. And gravity is twice as strong, meaning it won't be too pleasant to walk around. But at least we'll be able to live there. The problem, as with most things in space, is the distance. At 20 light years away, it would take 300,000 years to get there.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1753639/welcome-to-humanitys-future-home-first-habitable-planet-discovered

 

[KJbushway]

Pass. someone can have my seat.

 

[Distorted Humor]

Well, if you wanted a long-term generation ship, a hollowed out asteroid will do all right. For a space habitat, it works kind of like a trailer home. You can move it any place you want, generally speaking, and you don't have to worry about the hazards of living on a planet. The downside lies in being known as "asteroid belt trash", but hey, whatever.

This lagrange point is going to heck in a handbasket since that redneck asteroid belt trash moved in...