Quote:
Originally Posted by synaesthetic
It causes a number of problems. A planet that's tidally locked will experience bizarre weather conditions, and of course, one whole side of the planet will never receive any light. This would preclude photosynthesis on the night side.
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Actually no. Being tidally locked between a planet and its star means that the same side of the planet will face the same side of the sun. Every side will get sunlight because the planet is still rotating on its axis around the sun - it is a different issue from a planet-satellite pair because the sun emits light and the planet doesn't.
For example :
Let the points of the planet P and star S be indicated by x and y. At the start of the year, point x of P will face point x of S.
y-
P-x ===== x-
S-y
Half a year later, P makes half an orbit around the star, at the same time, turns half on its own axis so point y of P faces point y of S.
x-
P-y ===== y-
S-x
Mathematically, it has to be a 1:1 rate of rotation : revolution to make sure all points face the similar points at every part of the year, assuming the gravitational flux of either body remains unchanged.