4 ms·
There is a third option besides tidal lock and night/day cycle. Some moons in the outer Solar System have Chaotic Rotation[1]. These bodies don't have a fixed
by jobigoud 8y ago
There is a third option besides tidal lock and night/day cycle.
Some moons in the outer Solar System have Chaotic Rotation[1]. These bodies don't have a fixed rotation axis or period.
There could still be such a Moon orbiting a planet in the habitable zone, or even a small planet in a belt like structure orbiting close to a red dwarf.
I wonder what lifeforms could evolve when the amount of light/energy received is unpredictable and varies constantly?
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaotic_rotation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaotic_rotation
- quantumhobbit 8y agoChaotic rotation occurs primarily in bodies that are not spherical. These tend to be smaller, because gravity forces larger bodies into spheres, and would have a thinner atmosphere if any due to the small gravity. Not saying life is impossible on such a moon, but it would be even weirder than just strange day night suggests.
- mkirklions 8y agoBut wont millions of years of chaotic rotation cause a large body to become round? Thousands of years this sounds realistic, but remember the scale of things is in billions of years.
- lainga 8y agoI believe the chaotic rotation would stop as soon as the body became round, to conserve angular momentum.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]