Or rotate like Mercury?
The Proxima Centauri exoplanet, unlike Earth, is tidally locked to its parent star, always showing it the same face. (Like our Moon!)
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Q: How can astronomers tell that the PC exoplanet is tidally locked at such a vast distance?
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It's likely for a planet so close to its parent star to be tidally locked.
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if that is, Temperatures and radiation levels that are similar earth would only be present on a "ring"
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so this means no magnetosphere and hence no shielding from solar winds/radiation, so chance of life is slim??
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В Вашем Профиле, Фоном Является... - Лес. Допустим Вы в Оный - Не Заходили ни разу, а Только Видите... Леса Чащобу.
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I thought we don't know whether it's tidally locked.
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More study may show it's not, but it's very likely because of how close it is to its parent star. We clarified with more tweets!
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Most accurate to say that Proxima b is *likely* to be tidally locked to its parent star. Why is this?
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Tidal forces increase greatly as distance decreases. Proxima b is very close to its parent, so tidal forces on it are very strong.
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