COSMOS OF KAOWAS

we-are-star-stuff: If Earth Had a Ring Like Saturn Our planet...

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:43:58 -0400

If Earth Had a Ring Like Saturn

Our planet is lucky enough to have a large moon orbiting not too far away, which makes for very pretty moonlit nights. But for spectacular skies it might almost be worth trading in our moon for a ring like Saturn’s.

In fact, the earth did once have a ring - as part of the formation of our moon, ironically enough. When the planet Thea crashed into the earth, a titanic amount of material was blown into space. This went into orbit around the earth, forming a ring until it all eventually coalesced into our present-day satellite. This only happened because the material was orbiting outside of earth’s Roche limit.

In 1848, the French mathematician Edouard Roche calculated that if a large satellite were to approach too closely to a planet, it would be torn apart by the planet’s gravitational forces. This happens because the gravitational attraction of a planet on a moon is not equal. The planet pulls more on the side of the moon closest to it and less on the side further away. If the moon gets too close, this unequal pull can become great enough to tear the moon apart. Every planet has what is called a Roche limit.

Some astronomers believe that Saturn’s rings are material that was unable to form into a moon because it lies within the planet’s Roche limit. The gravitational pull of Saturn prevents particles from clumping together to form a moon. Another idea popular among scientists suggests that during the time when Saturn was first forming, it had one or more moons just outside its Roche limit. The bigger a planet is, the more gravity it has. And the more gravity it has, the bigger its Roche limit is. So as Saturn grew larger, its Roche limit grew, too. The limit soon moved past the inner moons and these moons soon broke apart. The remnants of the destroyed moons eventually formed the magnificent rings we see today. There may still be large pieces of these ancient moons within the rings. They would be much smaller than their ancestors but a thousand times larger than a typical ring particle. Another theory suggests that a few hundred million years ago - at a time when the early ancestors of the dinosaurs were roaming Earth - Saturn may have had no rings at all. The rings formed when one or more small moons wandered too close to Saturn. When they got within the Roche limit, Saturn’s gravity ripped them apart. After millions of years of bumping against one another, the pieces of moon were ground into the tiny particles that form the rings today.

If we had rings in the same proportion to our planet that Saturn’s are to it, it is pretty easy to figure out what they would like like from different places on the earth. From the equator the rings would be passing directly overhead. Since you’d be looking in the same plane as the rings, all you would see is a bright line arching from horizon to horizon. Here is what the rings might look like from Quito, Ecuador:

If we travel just a little further north to Guatemala, the rings begin to spread across the sky. The earthlight illuminating the dark side of the moon is many times brighter than we are accustomed to, due to the increased sunlight being reflected from the rings.

From Washington, DC (at 38° latitude), the rings begin to sink below the horizon, though they would still be an awe-inspiring sight as they dominate the sky both day and night.

At the Arctic Circle, the rings barely reach above the horizon. Seen here from Nome, Alaska, the brilliant rings illuminate the barren landscape scarcely more than a full moon would. Unlike the sun or moon, however, the rings neither rise nor set… they are always visible, day or night, always in exactly the same place.

thewalkingflawartblog: … I ship it - Zak’s Legend of Korra AU...

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:19:40 -0400

thewalkingflawartblog:

… I ship it

-

Zak’s Legend of Korra AU where everyone is a Corgi but Mako. Best part was while drawing this, Pandora radio kept playing love songs!

~~First time drawing a corgi~~

… Welp. I’m just going to leave this here.

smalllindsay: lynnvwang: NEW DOGSNACK by me and Ed Skudder!!!...

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:14:16 -0400

smalllindsay:

lynnvwang:

NEW DOGSNACK by me and Ed Skudder!!! This time featuring our good friend and fellow animator, BROCK GALLAGHER!!

WHAT THE HEEEEEEEEE—

mustardwketchup: fat-birds: Budgie Balancing Trick. Do not go...

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:58:08 -0400

mustardwketchup:

fat-birds:

Budgie Balancing Trick.

Do not go to fat-birds.tumblr.com.

You will become obsessed.

One of us. One of us.

Next time use Elder Sign!

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:04:04 -0400

Next time use Elder Sign!

Not unless they catch me first! By the way, I have a sweet Bird...

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:46:57 -0400

Not unless they catch me first!

By the way, I have a sweet Bird Vs Dog fight lined up. I’ve given the dog brass knuckles and strapped a pistol to the bird. Should be good!

Did… Did I just glimpse my future?

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:44:34 -0400

Did… Did I just glimpse my future?

anonment: Titan-kun is late for school!

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:48:36 -0400

anonment:

Titan-kun is late for school!

ethankyou: geeksarefoxy: I got Blenderdick Custardbath :(((...

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:20:58 -0400

ethankyou:

geeksarefoxy:

I got Blenderdick Custardbath :((( lmao

Beezlebub Thundercats

“Bendylick Cuningscratch.” Erotic AND painful!

Photo

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:08:58 -0400

Diving-Helmet-Girl: I’d fudge your cherry!

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:50:42 -0400

Diving-Helmet-Girl: I’d fudge your cherry!

Oh Ms Grotkey! Someday you’ll be my girl!

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:08:28 -0400

Oh Ms Grotkey! Someday you’ll be my girl!

Photo

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:02:58 -0400

mikikoponczeck: Finished Saints row 3 today, after months of...

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:02:21 -0400

mikikoponczeck:

Finished Saints row 3 today, after months of waffling about in side missions. Had a great time smacking people with purple dildos. Of course I made a Ko, and for some reason she ended up looking like a cowboy bandit prostitute. ♥ :D

Alternate version with mask.

Man, every character I make in that game looks like a cowboy bandit prostitute! Or a businessman luchadore. Whichever.

Gotta get that early morning “OHFUCKJESUS!” in....

Wed, 15 May 2013 06:52:39 -0400

Gotta get that early morning “OHFUCKJESUS!” in. Aaahh. It’s like a nice cup of coffee.

With spiders in it.

scarymask: itswalky: moar lik teen titans...

Wed, 15 May 2013 06:50:12 -0400

scarymask:

itswalky:

moar lik teen titans NO!aslkjfjdlakdsj;alsf

Hilarious AND depressing! Hilaripressing.

It’s okay, man. I like the show! Though I also own the entirety of Lucky Star, so my tastes are slightly fallible, BUT STILL! I think Teen Titans GO! is a pretty good show. You know?

Mon, 13 May 2013 06:33:48 -0400

horatioandalice: kuromidou: (Twitter / JazzyPoomama:...

Sat, 11 May 2013 20:18:55 -0400

horatioandalice:

kuromidou:

(Twitter / JazzyPoomama: @okyameinko うん …から)

I die.

D’aaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!

ethankyou: atlasalpha: suddenly realizing your friend sent you a message hours ago and you’ve just...

Sat, 11 May 2013 20:08:28 -0400

ethankyou:

atlasalpha:

suddenly realizing your friend sent you a message hours ago and you’ve just been accidentally ignoring them the entire time

This happens to me more often than it should…

Yeah so about that thing I asked you about 2 days ago…

nonananana: Q面白かった！ブルーレイ待ちです

Sat, 11 May 2013 20:01:35 -0400

nonananana:

Q面白かった！ブルーレイ待ちです