Tidally locked planets in science fiction?

September 30, 2010 9:56 AM

Anyone know of any good sci fi stories about tidally locked planets?

All the hubbub about Gliese 581 of late has got me wondering what life could be like on a tidally locked planet. Is there any good sci fi that speculates about this out there?

posted by cirrostratus to Science & Nature (20 answers total)

I suppose it would apply to any SF written involving the planet Mercury (back when it was thought to be tidally locked).
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:00 AM on September 30, 2010

Whether it's good sci-fi is arguable, but the Star Wars Expanded Universe has Ryloth, homeworld of the Twi'leks. I'm pretty sure there's a short story about it somewhere.
posted by AugieAugustus at 10:01 AM on September 30, 2010

Big Planet - Jack Vance (IIRC)
Jack of Shadows - Roger Zelazny

I'm sure Hal Clement must've written something but I can't bring a title to mind.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 10:03 AM on September 30, 2010

Yes! There is a short story--actually, novella I think... in... one of the four most recent "Year's Best Science Fiction" collections... which... ack, it's really hard to find again on this damn Kindle app. I may or may not find it--with luck, someone will beat me to it. As I recall it was not terribly germane to the plot but it was relevant...
posted by RJ Reynolds at 10:04 AM on September 30, 2010

Stanley G. Weinbaum set a story -- The Lotus Eaters -- in the "Twilight Zone" of a tidally locked Venus.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 10:06 AM on September 30, 2010

The Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy involves a large moon that is tidally locked in its orbit around a gas giant. It also involves a nanotyrannosaur version of Galileo.
posted by DoktorFaustus at 10:10 AM on September 30, 2010 [2 favorites]

If you'll accept the spin-orbit resonance of Mercury as an acceptable stand-in for tidal locking, try Saturn's Children by Mefi's own Charles Stross. It's my favorite tale of interplanetary tourism - the book has many themes but I've never read a better description of hotels on other planets and the discomforts of traveling on cramped spaceliners. Only part of the action takes place on mercury, but you'll enjoy your tour of Cinnabar, the city on rails.
posted by Quietgal at 10:12 AM on September 30, 2010

Response by poster: Quietgal - I've been on something of a Stross binge lately so Saturn's Children was in the queue already.

I think what I'm mostly interested in here are stories that discuss how life evolved with an unmoving sun and what, if anything, goes on on the dark side.
posted by cirrostratus at 10:23 AM on September 30, 2010

Seconding the Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy - the series is really good.
posted by strixus at 10:33 AM on September 30, 2010

Niven's "The Coldest Place"
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:47 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

(no life in that , tho)
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:47 AM on September 30, 2010

(OH and Jack of Shadows is sooo good.)
posted by RJ Reynolds at 10:55 AM on September 30, 2010

The Rocheworld or Flight of the Dragonfly books by Robert L Forward feature a double-planet which is tidally locked together with interesting results.
posted by The otter lady at 10:59 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

The bandersnatchi of Larry Niven's Known Space stories live on Jinx, a moon tidally locked with its Jovian planet.
posted by musofire at 11:00 AM on September 30, 2010

I believe the far-future Earth in Brian Aldiss' Hothouse is tidally locked with the moon, though I suspect you mean a planet being tidally locked to its sun. The only other examples that came to my mind are those Guyinamonkeysuit mentioned, but with the help of Google and Wikipedia I found Hal Clement's example (which I have not read), Fossil.
posted by aught at 11:21 AM on September 30, 2010

There is a mention of a couple such stories way down in the comments about yesterday's Gliese 581 story on the blue.
posted by richyoung at 12:04 PM on September 30, 2010

Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
Rocheworld, Robert L. Forward
Starquake, RLF
And at least one short story each by Asimov and Heinlein using the fact of Mercury's tidal lock.
I think there's a James P Hogan book, too, but I can't think of he title.
posted by lothar at 12:51 PM on September 30, 2010

On a slightly tangential note, The Sword's new album Warp Riders is a concept album with a pretty ludicrous science fiction story line based around a tidally locked planet.

It also wins the award for best album cover featuring a spaceship flying through a giant brain.
posted by dudekiller at 5:05 PM on September 30, 2010

Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement

Just to note that this book does not feature a tidally locked planet. In fact if I recall correctly Mesklin rotates so fast it counteracts some of its massive gravity in the equatorial regions.

That is all.
posted by aught at 8:04 AM on October 1, 2010

Niven's "The Coldest Place" written when it was thought Mercury was tidally locked.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:44 AM on October 4, 2010