These exoplanets have one side in permanent light and another side in permanent darkness. The region where the two sides meet is called the terminator zone.
An exoplanet’s terminator zone, along with its perpetual dayside and nightside, is made possible by the planet’s proximity to its star. According to Lobo, planets included in their study closely orbit smaller, dimmer stars known as red or M-dwarf stars. The orbits are quite small, bringing the planets closer to their stars than Mercury is to the sun.
Because of this proximity, the star of a planet with a terminator zone has a strong gravitational pull on the planet, slowing down its rotation. The rotation becomes so slow that the same side of the planet constantly faces the star. Called tidal locking, this phenomenon is also seen with Earth and theThis tidal locking results in the permanent dayside and nighttime on these planets.
Where the two sides meet – the terminator zone – can remain at moderate temperatures favorable for life, according to Lobo. In addition to causing tidal locking, this proximity to a star also brings the planets with terminator zones into a
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
What Happened To John Connor In Terminator GenisysTerminator Genisys’ John Connor twist is a major change from previous Terminator movies, setting the Genisys timeline apart from the previous ones.
Read more »
A Small Light Team On Sharing Miep Gies' Story With The WorldWe speak with ASmallLight creators TonyTphelan & Joan Rater, as well as director Susanna Fogel, about telling the story of Miep Gies and her role in hiding Anne Frank's family for the upcoming NatGeoTV and DisneyPlus series:
Read more »
Philippines Gets its First Electric Light Truck From Chinese Truckmaker Foton - CleanTechnicaPhilippines gets its first electric light truck from Chinese truckmaker Foton, the electric truck in the Philippines formally last week
Read more »
Documents shed light on Vallow Daybell's attorney's planned defense strategy for trial2News recently looked through documents filed in Vallow Daybell's case, which seemingly revealed at least one defense strategy her attorneys are planning to use.
Read more »
Biden admin moving forward with light bulb bans in coming weeksThe Biden administration is set to fully enforce a light bulb ban in the coming months that will particularly impact lower-income households after it rolled back Trump-era rules.
Read more »