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It soon will be possible to locate sunless orphan planets that wander through deep space; such planets may be able to sustain life near or below their surfaces with heat from their cores, and more life-sustaining energy could be supplied by the presence of a moon, whose gravity causes “tidal heating.” The planets are more likely to possess liquid water and heat-trapping atmospheres if they were orphaned at a particularly young age.

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It soon will be possible to locate sunless orphan planets that wander through deep space; such planets may be able to sustain life near or below their surfaces with heat from their cores, and more life-sustaining energy could be supplied by the presence of a moon, whose gravity causes “tidal heating.” The planets are more likely to possess liquid water and heat-trapping atmospheres if they were orphaned at a particularly young age.

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