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by jrd79 831 days ago
Is it possible to collect actual observations to confirm or deny the results of this modeling? A key part of any well formed scientific hypothesis is that it can be validated or disproved by real world experimentation or observation (falsifiable). Where will that data come from in this case? Computer models are an important part of science, but if they can't be validated against data, what's the point?
2 comments

It seems quite falsifiable. We Just need to visit or image several hundred tidally locked planets in the habitable zone.

Also, theory and models still have value in the absence of experimental data. They can inform your decisions on what experiments to run! They can also inform your decision on how to behave in the absence of data and validated models.

One of the references has a section on Implications for Observations of exoplanets.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aa9f1f/...