tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627256068921784962.post999660961592058192..comments2024-03-25T14:17:52.660-04:00Comments on JA Grier - One Writer's Mind: Imagine a Ring Around the EarthJA Grier (ee/em/eir)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10733447921892286243noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627256068921784962.post-52936952422648254442009-12-02T09:08:43.373-05:002009-12-02T09:08:43.373-05:00Thanks for the comment - I agree that our moon wou...Thanks for the comment - I agree that our moon would certainly have a gravitational effect on any ring system. The Cassini division is caused by a resonance (as you know) so I'm assuming if we could manage a stable ring system, it would have some other density-gap pattern. The brightness factor is a good one to point out. It would be a real trick to pick out the faintest objects with that ring system always at least partially illuminated. Even an eclipse wouldn't help.JA Grier (ee/em/eir)https://www.blogger.com/profile/10733447921892286243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627256068921784962.post-10803007890135807912009-11-27T16:18:25.053-05:002009-11-27T16:18:25.053-05:00I've enjoyed that video, also. I think the que...I've enjoyed that video, also. I think the question of whether we'd have a moon at all with a ring isn't clear to me. Certainly, you could imagine gaps and perturbations in the rings associated with the Moon if it were there. <br /><br />I imagine it would very quickly become clear to people that the world was spherical if there were a ring. The ancient Egyptians/Greeks/Babylonians etc. would have a much easier time measuring the width of the ring at different latitudes and extrapolating to a correct size of the Earth also, I'd guess.<br /><br />On the other hand, I could also believe that the ring could be a negative for early astronomers-- first of all, it'd blast any faint objects away. Second, it might be very hard to figure out what's going on with the part that's in the Earth's shadow (or maybe I'm not giving people enough credit). Third of all (though similar to the first), there'd be whole swaths of the sky rendered unobservable by a ring, as well as portions of planetary orbits...<br /><br />Neat post!Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09496289268182148690noreply@blogger.com