# What if Earth had rings

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-earth-had-rings/612601>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 12, 2012, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-earth-had-rings/612601 "2012-02-12T12:33:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![jbaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/59ef9b/32.png) [@jbaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbaker)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-earth-had-rings/612601/21 "2012-02-14T20:15:27Z")

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If we had rings, wouldn’t that imply that we don’t have a large moon? Saturn has moons, of course, but nothing as proportionately large as Luna. I believe Isaac Asimov wrote an essay on the importance of the moon; if I recall correctly, he suggested that the absence of lunar tides would mean that the animals might never have colonized land, and I think he had some other bad consequences as well.

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**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-earth-had-rings/612601/22 "2012-02-16T11:39:58Z")

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Several years ago, someone here on The Dope linked to a website where a photographer/artist had created this absolutely _beautiful_ pics of what the view would be like from various localities around the globe if Earth had rings. View from Quito: thin line from one horizon to the other. View from Oslo: thick line near the horizon (IIRC). It was incredible!

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**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-earth-had-rings/612601/23 "2012-02-16T13:45:47Z")

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> [@HeyHomie](#):
>
> Several years ago, someone here on The Dope linked to a website where a photographer/artist had created this absolutely _beautiful_ pics of what the view would be like from various localities around the globe if Earth had rings. View from Quito: thin line from one horizon to the other. View from Oslo: thick line near the horizon (IIRC). It was incredible!

Check out the link in Cosmic Relief’s post, #4 in this thread.

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**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-earth-had-rings/612601/24 "2012-02-16T23:42:17Z")

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> [@Electronic\_Chaos](#):
>
> Check out the link in Cosmic Relief’s post, #4 in this thread.

Oops. :smack:

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**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-earth-had-rings/612601/25 "2012-02-16T23:52:38Z")

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> [@Musicat](#):
>
> But [Neptune’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune) do not.
> 
> And there are at least three theories about ring formation that I know of. One is a broken up satellite (think Roche limit violator)…

And with the new Roche Limit Offenders and Crimes Against Astrophysics Act of 2011, planets that get close enough either get broken up or have to have their picture, size, and composition put up on Astronomy Today.

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