I'm pretty sure that all the ringed planets I have ever heard of in reality are gaseous worlds. But you see it all the time in sci-fi : A beautiful ringed world with large continents, pristine oceans, and several inhabited cities. It would seem to me that the reality would be very different. Assuming it is even possible for a solid planet to have a ring system, wouldn't the tidal forces of such play havoc with the planets oceans and atmosphere making the planet in essence uninhabitable? If the rings were dense enough and produced enough force I would assume they could even shatter a small planet(iod). This is all guess work on my part, I know very little about astrophysics, but I am curious to know if anyone that does study astrophysics has any thoughts on this.
-
I think you have some pretty serious misapprehensions here.
First of all, the ring systems we know (e.g. those of Saturn) are NOT massive. Although they look spectacular in photographs (or even in the eyepiece of a telescope), there really is very little there. In total, the mass of all the particles in all the rings is equivalent to that of a small moon (although the precise total is still a matter of dispute). See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Sa…
for more information.
The tidal effect of the rings would, of course, be even less than that of a small moon, because it would be spread out all around the planet, not concentrated. In any case, the effect of moons on planets is in general much less than we are used to here on earth, because the moon is one of the largest in the solar system. Relative to its parent planet (the earth in this case), it is in fact the largest moon in the solar system.
So to summarise, I can't see any reason in principle why a rocky planet shouldn't have a ring system, or why a ring system round a rocky planet would make it in any sense uninhabitable.
First of all, the ring systems we know (e.g. those of Saturn) are NOT massive. Although they look spectacular in photographs (or even in the eyepiece of a telescope), there really is very little there. In total, the mass of all the particles in all the rings is equivalent to that of a small moon (although the precise total is still a matter of dispute). See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Sa…
for more information.
The tidal effect of the rings would, of course, be even less than that of a small moon, because it would be spread out all around the planet, not concentrated. In any case, the effect of moons on planets is in general much less than we are used to here on earth, because the moon is one of the largest in the solar system. Relative to its parent planet (the earth in this case), it is in fact the largest moon in the solar system.
So to summarise, I can't see any reason in principle why a rocky planet shouldn't have a ring system, or why a ring system round a rocky planet would make it in any sense uninhabitable.
-
If by some reason the "habitable" planet had another moon in a higher orbit kind of causing like a asteroid belt effect. The planet would have to be a little bigger than the earth (like 2 1/2 Earths) then this event would be much more plausible ...That would be a sight to see.
-
it doesn't need to be an astrophysics major to get this. if it was an earth sized planet, the ring would probably have less mass than the moon itself
and if it has less mass... well you can do 1+1
if the ring was more dense and therefore answering to your question "but what if it had more mass than the moon", it would form a satellite over the years. if the satellite was bigger than moon, then the tidal forces would be greater, and life could be rougher. but it also depends on how much water you have there. if its like 30% water and 70% land (on an "earth") then it wouldn't be much of an issue - you would could live and develop pretty easy in the mainland of the massive continents of land.
and if it has less mass... well you can do 1+1
if the ring was more dense and therefore answering to your question "but what if it had more mass than the moon", it would form a satellite over the years. if the satellite was bigger than moon, then the tidal forces would be greater, and life could be rougher. but it also depends on how much water you have there. if its like 30% water and 70% land (on an "earth") then it wouldn't be much of an issue - you would could live and develop pretty easy in the mainland of the massive continents of land.