- #1
ladr0n
- 3
- 0
My question was piqued by this article: http://news.discovery.com/space/earth-like-planet-life.html
The article claims that the planet discovered is tidally locked, but does not explain how this was determined. Presumably the planet is much too far away to be resolved by any telescope, and its position and mass have been inferred by other means (its periodic effect on the parent star's apparent brightness, etc). How could we determine whether or not a planet like this is tidally locked?
The article claims that the planet discovered is tidally locked, but does not explain how this was determined. Presumably the planet is much too far away to be resolved by any telescope, and its position and mass have been inferred by other means (its periodic effect on the parent star's apparent brightness, etc). How could we determine whether or not a planet like this is tidally locked?