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Apparently what would hurt the chance of life in a tidally locked planet the most is that due to being tidally locked the planet would have a reduced magnetic f

Apparently what would hurt the chance of life in a tidally locked planet the most is that due to being tidally locked the planet would have a reduced magnetic field to protect the atmosphere, and therefore there is a good chance that the planet would lose it's atmosphere over time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitability_of_red_dwarf_systems#Variability https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitability_of_red_dwarf_syst...

cgriswald 10y ago
Agreed, but there are other variables involved, including strength of stellar wind, density of atmosphere, whether a magnetic field is induced by the stellar wind, the mass of the planet (strength of its gravity), etc.
kbenson 10y ago
Does atmosphere include the ocean? Because life developed in the oceans first here, and some has never left.
- cstejerean 10y ago
  Without an atmosphere you can't maintain a surface ocean, because liquid water can't exist in a vacuum. It's possible for the ocean to exist under a crust of ice though. See Europa for an example. So it's still theoretically possible for life to exist in a subsurface ocean, but I think it's a lot less likely compared to a planet with an atmosphere and temperatures that would support liquid water on the surface.
  - kbenson 10y ago
    > It's possible for the ocean to exist under a crust of ice though. See Europa for an example. That's exactly what I was thinking of. :) > I think it's a lot less likely compared to a planet with an atmosphere and temperatures that would support liquid water on the surface. Sure, but we have little information on how common life is. We're not even sure there's no life on Europa. If Europa supports life, it may be that (basic) life is somewhat common given certain criteria, and while I agree it's probably more common on planets with atmosphere and your statements were not incorrect, it may be that life is actually fairly likely on a planet like that (which is what I, possibly incorrectly, interpreted your statement as ultimately trying to convey).

cgriswald 10y ago

Agreed, but there are other variables involved, including strength of stellar wind, density of atmosphere, whether a magnetic field is induced by the stellar wind, the mass of the planet (strength of its gravity), etc.

kbenson 10y ago

Does atmosphere include the ocean? Because life developed in the oceans first here, and some has never left.

cstejerean 10y ago
Without an atmosphere you can't maintain a surface ocean, because liquid water can't exist in a vacuum. It's possible for the ocean to exist under a crust of ice though. See Europa for an example. So it's still theoretically possible for life to exist in a subsurface ocean, but I think it's a lot less likely compared to a planet with an atmosphere and temperatures that would support liquid water on the surface.
- kbenson 10y ago
  > It's possible for the ocean to exist under a crust of ice though. See Europa for an example. That's exactly what I was thinking of. :) > I think it's a lot less likely compared to a planet with an atmosphere and temperatures that would support liquid water on the surface. Sure, but we have little information on how common life is. We're not even sure there's no life on Europa. If Europa supports life, it may be that (basic) life is somewhat common given certain criteria, and while I agree it's probably more common on planets with atmosphere and your statements were not incorrect, it may be that life is actually fairly likely on a planet like that (which is what I, possibly incorrectly, interpreted your statement as ultimately trying to convey).