Astroboy said:so we're all going to fry in a billion years? damn, better start pulling out my super...
Tidal locking is when the same side of a celestial body is always facing its parent body, due to the gravitational forces between them.
Earth has a relatively fast rotation speed, completing one rotation in approximately 24 hours. This is much faster than the time it takes for the Sun's gravitational pull to cause tidal locking.
It is estimated that Earth will become tidelocked to the Sun in approximately 50 billion years, when the Sun has expanded into a red giant and engulfed the inner planets.
If Earth becomes tidelocked to the Sun, one side will always face the Sun and experience constant daylight, while the other side will always face away and experience constant darkness. This could potentially have major impacts on the climate and weather patterns on Earth.
No, once a celestial body becomes tidelocked, it is unlikely for it to reverse back to its original rotation. However, it is possible for tidal forces from other celestial bodies to disrupt the tidelocking process and cause the body to rotate at a different rate.