If the earth had rings like Saturn

[Rum]

A slightly odd speculation, but fun anyway..

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Pretty, but wouldn't the aspect change as well as the height above horizon?

Can you picture that in neolithic times? "The Arc watches over you!" and later religions based on "writings" found in the arcs? Wars over which band was the holiest?

[Thinking Aloud]

Now THAT was awe inspiring! Thanks for posting it Rum.

Seeing those huge features imposed on man-scale endeavours was one of those "wow" moments. Imagine what ancient cultures would have made of those rivers in the sky - and imagine where how civilisation, understanding and technology might have developed differently with such a planetary-scale feature on view.

Edit: typical - beaten to it by a large reptile.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Now THAT was awe inspiring! Thanks for posting it Rum.

Seeing those huge features imposed on man-scale endeavours was one of those "wow" moments. Imagine what ancient cultures would have made of those rivers in the sky - and imagine where how civilisation, understanding and technology might have developed differently with such a planetary-scale feature on view.

Edit: typical - beaten to it by a large reptile.

How about protests against space travel as we might "break" the rings and send them crashing down to Earth?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Oh, and a homage to Niven: Some people take pilgrimages intending to walk to the base of the arcs and then ascend into heaven.

[Thinking Aloud]

Oh, and a homage to Niven: Some people take pilgrimages intending to walk to the base of the arcs and then ascend into heaven.

Can we build one please? And then send religious folks on pilgrimages please?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Oh, and a homage to Niven: Some people take pilgrimages intending to walk to the base of the arcs and then ascend into heaven.

Can we build one please? And then send religious folks on pilgrimages please?

Exporting a problem isn't solving it. Unless we suggest that if they're holy enough they can follow the path across oceans on foot? :twisted:

The reverse, Ringworld.

[Thinking Aloud]

Oh, and a homage to Niven: Some people take pilgrimages intending to walk to the base of the arcs and then ascend into heaven.

Can we build one please? And then send religious folks on pilgrimages please?

Exporting a problem isn't solving it. Unless we suggest that if they're holy enough they can follow the path across oceans on foot? :twisted:

I was kind of hoping they'd exhaust themselves to death in the effort.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Oh, and a homage to Niven: Some people take pilgrimages intending to walk to the base of the arcs and then ascend into heaven.

Can we build one please? And then send religious folks on pilgrimages please?

Exporting a problem isn't solving it. Unless we suggest that if they're holy enough they can follow the path across oceans on foot? :twisted:

I was kind of hoping they'd exhaust themselves to death in the effort.

The Muslim pilgrims and the guys who climb mountains on their knees, or travel 1,000 miles while prostrating for prayer every third "step" would suggest that fanaticism is a pretty strong fuel.

[Thinking Aloud]

Oh, and a homage to Niven: Some people take pilgrimages intending to walk to the base of the arcs and then ascend into heaven.

Can we build one please? And then send religious folks on pilgrimages please?

Exporting a problem isn't solving it. Unless we suggest that if they're holy enough they can follow the path across oceans on foot? :twisted:

I was kind of hoping they'd exhaust themselves to death in the effort.

The Muslim pilgrims and the guys who climb mountains on their knees, or travel 1,000 miles while prostrating for prayer every third "step" would suggest that fanaticism is a pretty strong fuel.

But it's a bloody-awful long way to the end of those arcs, and they have to carry all their supplies themselves, for the entire journey.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

But it's a bloody-awful long way to the end of those arcs, and they have to carry all their supplies themselves, for the entire journey.

Ah, rig the game. Of course they'll cheat, they're religious people and so very, very moral about such things.

[Thinking Aloud]

But it's a bloody-awful long way to the end of those arcs, and they have to carry all their supplies themselves, for the entire journey.

Ah, rig the game. Of course they'll cheat, they're religious people and so very, very moral about such things.

This is true. So make them start again. They can't enter heaven until they've done it properly.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

But it's a bloody-awful long way to the end of those arcs, and they have to carry all their supplies themselves, for the entire journey.

Ah, rig the game. Of course they'll cheat, they're religious people and so very, very moral about such things.

This is true. So make them start again. They can't enter heaven until they've done it properly.

But if they were busy on pilgrimages who would be manning the pulpits?

Oh, right.

[Faithfree]

Don't have references to hand, but there have been a few serious, though speculative, scientific papers suggesting that Earth may have had rings for brief periods during its history, to explain such things as low latitude ice sheets during periods of the Precambrian. Not widely accepted, but amusing ideas none-the-less. It would make for an intersting sky.

[wolfréalt]

I know this is a bit old but I cant resist. that was classy and the music was shit hot. There would have been rings around Earth when the moon was forming. Though you would have had warm feet viewing them from the surface......