"If The Earth Had Rings Like Saturn"

[jts]

If Earth had rings like Saturn, how would they look?

[tmj]

but it don't

[Brant Gaede]

Ah, the recreation of reality according to the artist's metaphysical value judgments.

--Brant

oh, brilliant--and thanks!

[Brant Gaede]

but it don't

But it does--didn't you look at the video?

--Brant

[BaalChatzaf]

1. If we still retained our relatively large moon the rings would be swept up.

2. If the earth did not have its large moon, but had rings it would be axially unstable

climate would be variable and our species probably would not have evolved.

3. If we had our relatively large moon AND rings, our space program would be rather

unfavorably impacted.

4 we would have no geosynchronous equatorial satellites.

Ba'al Chatzaf

[syrakusos]

Every planet has "rings" just as even Luna has an "atmosphere."

Earth does not have a ring like Saturn's because it is not as massive and is (as Ba'al noted) actually a double planet system, wherein the smaller of the pair (Luna) long ago affected the formation of saturnial rings.

Earth does have a cloud of satellites. Human invention changed the cosmos. You cannot just map what exists in nature, you have to include what intelligence created.

One 3-D Google Earth map of satellites in orbit

National Geographic story with picture here:

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/orbital/

From NASA