worldbuilding projects

one of my hobbies is making up fictional worlds! i like to focus on physical realism, because i'm not very creatively gifted :'<

tidally locked planet

my current main project is a tidally-locked planet. i think that the people on there would probably have some really interesting ideas about a bunch of stuff, cause they've got a weird position to view the world

lately, i've been focusing on climate stuff, especially wind patterns. as one might expect, there is a great uplifting of air near the substellar point (the point on the planet where its star is directly overhead) due to its great irradiance (the amount of light per unit area). however, contrary to popular depiction, it would probably be quite wet, like the tropics. this is because, as the hot, low-altitude air ascends, it would cool due to adiabatic expansion. this makes the moisture in the air condence out, forming rain clouds. high-altitude winds would carry some heat away from the substellar point, helping to keep the dark side of the planet warmer than it otherwise would be.

on the topic of the dark side, there are some nifty processes that could help keep its temperature in check too! in particular, ice is a poor radiator, relative to liquid water. so, once water freezes, it will trap heat much better. this is like the ice-albedo feedback loop, except this one has negative feedback. additionally, ice will act to insulate any ocean present on the dark side, likely preventing it from freezing all the way through!