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Old 28-03-2012, 02:54 AM
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lone77star (Carl)
Alpha Centauri Bound

lone77star is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Philippines
Posts: 14
Gravitational death grip

The one problem with red dwarfs is that for a planet to get enough warmth it needs to nuzzle in real close. But that puts the planet at the mercy of the star's gravitational tidal effects, effectively slowing or stopping the planet's rotation relative to its sun.

With one face always to its sun, a planet like Earth would likely develop life only in the twilight zone near the terminator or sunset line. It's doubtful that such planets would yield intelligent life and civilizations.

The one big exception to this would involve twin planets where both worlds force a rotation relative to their sun. They may not get tired of each other's face, and that helps to spread the heat around, making them indeed more Earth-like. Of course, such twin-Earths are likely to be extremely rare -- the right size and the right distance from their parent star.
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