Free Republic

Two Earth-sized planets circle a red giant star. By what is generally known about star evolution, they should not exist in such close proximity to their parent star. But a new theory suggests that they may have once been part of a massive gas giant that not only was ripped apart by the parent star but also helped the parent shed excess gas, allowing them to survive. Some of the work astronomers do gravitates toward the theoretical, as when they attempt to explain certain anomalous conditions or the presence of phenomena. Such was the case when two Earth-sized planets were...

The search for habitable alien planets will be harder because tidal forces could remove water from planets to leave them dry worlds. Tidal heating could affect searches for habitable exoplanet, according to researchers from the University of Washington. Strong tidal forces could render planets in the habitable zone unlivable. Tidal heating occurs as orbital and rotational energy is dissipated as heat on the crust of a planet or a moon. "This has fundamentally changed the concept of a habitable zone," said researcher Rory Barnes, a planetary scientist and astrobiologist at the University of Washington... A planet could experience tidal heating...