  Small rocky planets, as well as larger planets that suffered extensive
volatile loss, tend to be drier and have thinner atmospheres as compared to
Earth. Such planets probably outnumber worlds better endowed with volatiles,
being the most common habitable planets. For the subgroup of fast rotators
following eccentric orbits, atmospheres suffer radiative forcing and their heat
capacity provides a method for gauging atmospheric thickness and surface
conditions. We further explore the model presented in a previous paper and
apply it to real and hypothetical exoplanets in the habitable zone of various
classes of stars, simulating atmospheric and orbital characteristics. For
planetary eccentricities e ~0.3, the forcing-induced hypothetical temperature
variation would reach ~80 K for airless planets and ~10 K for planets with
substantial atmospheres. For Kepler-186 f and Kepler-442 b, assuming e ~0.1,
temperature variations can reach ~24 K. We also consider habitable exomoons in
circular orbits around gas giants within the habitable zone, which suffer
radiative forcing due to their epicyclic motion. We study several combinations
of parameters for the characterization of planets (mass, eccentricity and
semi-major axis) and exomoons (mass, orbital radius, albedo and atmospheric
characteristics) for different stellar types. For e ~0.3, exomoon temperature
varies up to ~90 K, while for ~0.6 variations can reach ~200 K. Such exomoons
may plausibly retain their volatiles by continued volcanic activity fueled by
tidal dissipation. Although currently undetectable, such effects might be
within reach of future Extremely Large Telescope-class telescopes and space
missions with mid-infrared and coronagraphic capabilities.
