Glossary

Tidal Locking

Tidal locking is when an object's rotation period matches its orbital period, so it always shows the same face to what it orbits. The Moon is tidally locked to Earth. Many planets close to their stars are locked too, giving them a permanent day side and night side with no sunrise or sunset. This extreme arrangement shapes a world's climate and its ability to hold an atmosphere, and is common for planets in the tight habitable zones of red dwarfs.

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