News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Planet Found in Habitable Zone Around Nearest Star. Parent comment

Re:Planet Found in Habitable Zone Around Nearest Star by euroclydon on Wednesday August 24, 2016 @05:25PM (#12355375)
They say the star's gravity fixes one side of the planet toward the star, and that ice builds up on the other side. I suppose if the atmosphere had enough mass, and the balance was precarious enough, the far side could accumulate enough ice to flip toward the star and become the near side.

So there might be a season change every so often

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Planet Found in Habitable Zone Around Nearest Star by FreeFull on Wednesday August 24, 2016 @10:22PM (#12356604)
I feel like adding mass on one side would only made the tidal locking stronger. Either way, you'd need some sort of massive energy input to make the planet spin up again.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Planet Found in Habitable Zone Around Nearest Star by vanattab on Wednesday August 24, 2016 @10:47PM (#12356686)
It would be interesting to study given a specific level of ice build up how big of an asteroid would have to hit it at the perfect angle to make it flip?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Planet Found in Habitable Zone Around Nearest Star by andrewflnr on Thursday August 25, 2016 @10:11AM (#12359110)
You mean a cataclysmic planetary flood every so often. All that ice suddenly exposed to continual bright sunlight is going to melt fast.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Planet Found in Habitable Zone Around Nearest Star by Spellman on Wednesday August 24, 2016 @07:43PM (#12356050)
Winter is Coming!
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Planet Found in Habitable Zone Around Nearest Star by nbevans on Thursday August 25, 2016 @03:59AM (#12357506)
That's an awesome plausible theory. Must be happening somewhere in the universe for sure!
[ Parent | on HN ]