Tidal locking

In planetary science, tidal locking was a phenomenon whereby the rotational period of a planetary body about its axis equals its orbital period. This meant that one hemisphere of the planet always faced its parent or primary.

An example of a tidally-locked planet was Dytallix B, in orbit around Mira Antliae. This uninhabited planet was mined by the Dytallix Mining Company. Due to the extreme temperatures on both the day and night sides of the planet, the mines were located in the temperate zone between these hemispheres. (TNG: "Conspiracy")

Daled IV was described by Data as a planet that "rotates only once per revolution." He further explained that "one side is constantly dark, the other side constantly light." He surmised that it was because of tidal locking that the two hemispheres on the planet developed disparate cultures, which was likely the major cause of the civil war on that planet. (TNG: "The Dauphin")

The planet Remus was tidally-locked to the star Romulus. The Remans who inhabited the planet lived on the dark side due to the day side's extreme temperatures, and had an aversion to light as a result. (Star Trek Nemesis)

While tidally-locked planets have been shown and used for story-telling purposes, the term "tidal locking" itself has not been used on-screen.

In the script for TNG: "Identity Crisis", Tarchannen III is described multiple times as being a world of "perpetual twilight", suggesting that it, too, is a tidally-locked planet. [1]

External link

• Tidal locking at Wikipedia