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To: sig226

I wonder what the rings would look like if one were on the planet looking up.


10 posted on 06/09/2008 10:11:18 PM PDT by zeebee
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To: zeebee
It just happens I had saved this recently. Just an illustration.


12 posted on 06/09/2008 10:32:23 PM PDT by Telepathic Intruder
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To: zeebee
I wonder what the rings would look like if one were on the planet looking up.

Hey that's a good question! Of course, you couldn't really be "on the planet" since Saturn does not have a distinct surface. If you were low enough to be supported by buoyancy, I feel sure you wouldn't be able to see the sky at all, so I suppose we have to content ourselves with "low Saturn orbit", which would provide the geometrically equivalent view.

From the equator, the rings would be a very thin line from horizon to horizon, passing straight overhead. They would be invisible in daylight, and at night would be partially eclipsed by Saturn ... Say, this is getting complicated!

For a midlatitude view, we can imagine making a simple model by drawing chalk rings on a pavement and standing offset from the center. Say our eyes are 5' off the ground, then standing about 5' from the center would simulate a midlatitude "surface view". The thin D and C rings would begin almost at your feet with a radius of just 9', right at the horizon from a midlatitude perspective. The bright B ring would have a radius of just 11', so it would arc very low in the sky. The Cassini division would be at 14' and the F ring at 16' would mark the outer edge of the bright rings. So all the rings would be within about 20 degrees of the horizon. It seems that getting the rings high in the sky "from the surface" would require you to be near the equator with a fairly "edge on" view. Very interesting considerations ( to me, anyway ) but I guess they hardly hint at the subjective impression such a view might make.

13 posted on 06/09/2008 11:26:31 PM PDT by dr_lew
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