If We Push Super-Saturn to the Distance of Neptune

A large, visible set of rings is the most conspicuous element that sets Saturn apart from the other planets. The whole system is 175,000 miles (280,000 km) wide but only two-thirds of a mile thick.

Now multiply that number by 200.

Such is the case when J1407b was first discovered in 2012.

No one knows how or why such a large system exists. Some say that this planet is far younger than Saturn and therefore is a reflection of Saturn's childhood. Whatever the case, if Saturn's rings were just as extensive, then the sky on Earth would have looked like this:

This bugs me personally because, at 888.2 million miles (1.43 billion km) from the sun, the rings would still be visible enough to interfere with cultural customs. Zeus would no longer be King of the Greeks. The Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths would have taken a more radical direction. Ra would have had a neighborhood bully in his birth, death and rebirth journey from dawn to dusk. The Norse would have viewed this as an always-open gateway to another of the nine realms. In short, to have Saturn's rings as large as J1407b's would complicate the cultural aspect of worldbuilding, perhaps to the extent of justifying the "Ancient Aliens" Space Bats.

So let's push this Super Saturn a little farther out--say, the distance of Neptune, 2.795 billion miles (4.5 billion km). Would this still make Super Saturn's rings visible, or would they be as small in Earth's night sky as any other star?

posted about 7 years ago

JohnWDailey‭

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