  Using an idealised general circulation model, we investigate the atmospheric
circulation of Earth-like terrestrial planets in a variety of orbital
configurations. We relax the common assumption of the planet being
tidally-locked, and look at the role atmospheric dynamics can have in the
observed thermal phase curve when the substellar point is non-stationary. In
slowly rotating planets, a moving forcing can induce strong jets in the upper
troposphere, both prograde and retrograde, sensitive to the speed and direction
of the diurnal forcing. We find that, consistent with previous shallow water
model experiments, the thermal phase curve offset is sensitive to the velocity
of the substellar point moving across the surface of the planet. For a planet
with a known orbital period, the results show that the observed hotspot on the
planet could be either east or west of the substellar point, depending on
whether the planet is tidally-locked or not.
