What Would Happen If The Earth Had Rings?

Rings around planetary bodies is surprisingly common. So why doesn’t the Earth have rings? Today we take a look at how rings form, what kind of rings Earth could have, how they would have shaped humanity, and why many scientists believe once upon a time, we did.

Want to support the channel? Here's how:

Check out my 2nd channel, Joe Scott TMI:

And my podcast channel, Conversations With Joe:

You can listen to my podcast, Conversations With Joe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Interested in getting a Tesla or going solar? Use my referral link and get discounts and perks:

Follow me at all my places!

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - What Are Rings?
2:09 - How Can Rings Form?
6:07 - Earth Rings View From Space
7:05 - Earth Rings View From Earth
7:50 - View From Earth At Night
8:22 - Shadows and Seasons
11:56 - Tangent Cam
13:58 - How Rings Could Affect Culture
16:40 - How Rings Could Affect Science

[joescott]

Hey I just wanted to say thanks for all the lovely comments this video has been receiving. As many of you pointed out, we put a LOT of effort into this video and really tried to make it something special. Who knows if that will be reflected in the view numbers but your responses make me feel like it was all worth it. Thank you!

[madisondenning]

You mentioned space junk, and it reminded me of a story I heard from a friend of my father. My father’s friend was an astronaut, unfortunately he is no longer with us. But he was doing maintenance on the outside of the space station and accidentally dropped the spatula he was using to apply the material. He contacted NASA back on Earth saying “uhhh I’ve dropped my spatula” and they tracked its orbit until it burned up in the atmosphere some time later.

[thenoremac]

I once created a fantasy setting that takes place on a planet with rings. During the winter, the sun disappears behind the rings and turns the day into a deep twilight. These few months are known as the Long Night, and it's always when all the nocturnal and subterranean monsters roam the land. Most of the year is centered around preparing for this time, much like our own winter for subsistence agricultural societies. Food needs to be harvested, preserved, and stored. Defenses and fortifications need to be repaired. Weapons and armor maintained. It's also a big money-making time for adventurers and mercenaries.

[namj]

I also was a bit emotional seeing the photos of the rings from here on earth. Like standing on the brink of Niagara Falls, the size and power are overwhelming. I also wonder if we still had rings, would there be a guy somewhere posting a "What would happen if the earth had no rings?" video?

[DaNintendude]

The cultural aspect is definitely the most interesting part to me.
I'm loving these thought experiments of how cultures would form and advance with those rings constantly there.
I'd imagine the people to find out that the rings look vastly different at different parts of the Earth would have their mind blown.

[cactusthestupid]

The mythologies that would exist around the rings would be absolutely fascinating. This is such an interesting idea!

[thewiirocks]

Holy cow. You've outdone yourself, Joe! Watching the Earth's shadow across the rings gives a sense of perspective that I've _never_ had about living on this blue marble. Seeing that snaps into sharp relief that you're sitting on the side of a planet looking out. That's just... mind blowing. Thank you for sharing this!

[ScottStronghill]

I have been a fan of this channel for years. And I have to say, this is one of the coolest explorations you've ever done, Joe. Well done, my friend. Well done!

[DonaldKraus-vy]

Joe, when you get fascinated with something, it really does get fun.

My son introduced me to your channel because, and I quote, "Dad, you're a huge nerd; you'll love it."

I hate that he was completely right.

I know this is an older video, but in the event that you actually see this comment, well, just know that you've made a real impact.

I'm an old-ass man and I still think you're doing great educational work.

[dragonscottage]

I was once working on a ringed planet for a speculative evolution and I was most interested in how many hours you might spend in any certain location in the narrow ring's shadow at different geographic locations and seasons. Sometimes you'd have the ring's shadow right at dawn, sometime at midday and sometimes towards the evening. Very fun stuff!
I absolutely LOVE this exercise of a ringed earth.

[qazsedcft]

Actually, we're pretty lucky to be living at a time when there are spectacular rings like those around Saturn. Some researchers say that rings like those can only last for some tens of millions of years, which is an instant on geological timescales.

[ddg]

If the earth had rings someone would have figured out how to put advertisements on them by now

[robsquared]

That's why aliens don't call us, the earth doesn't ring.

[jeffmbellucci]

Rings around Earth would be an incredible sight, but since ring system don't last indefinitely, we'd have to contend with the larger chunks of the rings surviving entry through the atmosphere. Not sure if I would want to live on/near the equator, as they would tend create a stripe of craters on the earth's surface over time.

On the other hand, the smaller pieces would also create what would look like a non-stop meteor shower, which would also be amazing to watch everyday, as long as it wasn't directly overhead. :)

[theanarchist]

If the Earth had rings, the flat Earthers would be given the ultimate and most obvious proof of that the Earth is in fact, not flat

[guillermopena]

It really makes me think how quickly would earth circle navigating would have happened in a ring earth. I can imagine a world where explores wanted to reach the start of what could have at first be called “The Bow” or “The Arch”. As sailors try to reach the start they end up circumnavigating the earth and realize that not only is the earth round but so is ring.

Hell, I wonder if they would pull a One Piece and navigate until they get right below the ring and then follow the line through the equator.

[Keksi]

I don't usually leave comments on your videos even though I watch them religiously pretty much every night but this one in particular had so much passion and love sprinkled in. The research put into this was so engaging and I wasn't expecting every question I had to be not only answered but visualized on top of that.

[dylantrashmint]

if the earth had rings there would be no flat earthers.

[kanyda]

Hey Joe, just wanted to say that I had specifically looked up a video "what if the earth had rings" a few months ago because I was curious, but the visualizations you had done were GREAT. Love the work you put into this one, and I have a feeling this will be an evergreen video for you, racking up views for years.

[DannyJoh]

Love the visualisations and your take on weather and culture. I think it would have a huge impact on our culture, we can't even imagine in what way I guess. Awesome video Joe, thanks for sharing!