Hot and cold on the topic.No mention was made in "In the Zone: Extrasolar planet extrasolar planet also called exoplanet Planet that orbits a star other than the Sun. The existence of extrasolar planets, many light-years from Earth, was confirmed in 1992 with the detection of three bodies circling a pulsar. with the potential for life" (SN: 4/28/07, p. 259) of the possibility that, being so close to its star and having a 13-day orbital period The orbital period is the time taken for a planet (or another object) to make one complete orbit. When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars. , the planet would keep the same surface to the star. Having one side baked by unrelenting sunlight and the other side frozen would leave only a narrow ring between eternal day and eternal night that might have what could be called average conditions suitable for liquid water. I would think that the probability for life to start and survive would be very unlikely. EDMUND SMITH Edmund Smith (1672-1710), (born Edmund Neale) was a minor English poet in the early eighteenth century. He is little read today but Samuel Johnson included him in his Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets in 1781. , BROGUE, PA. In some models of planets, especially those with atmospheres, heat flows between the day and night sides, so the temperatures aren't aren't Contraction of are not. See Usage Note at ain't. aren't are not aren't be so extreme.--R. COWEN |
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