The solar system boasts astonishing and complex rings around gas giants like Jupiter, Uranus, and Saturn. Unfortunately, our own planet Earth isn’t on that list. But if Earth did have rings, would life as we know it be possible?

When Earth was young, it likely had a ring of rocky debris. Scientists believe that roughly 4.5 billion years ago, another planet, Theia, collided with Earth. This giant impact created a ring of material that entered Earth’s orbit, though it didn’t last long. This rocky debris eventually coalesced to form another celestial body we now call the Moon.

Seeing a ringed planet in the sky would be far more spectacular than a simple gray rock. However, if this happened to Earth, most life-sustaining processes might not survive. The gravitational pull Earth exerts on the Moon isn’t uniform everywhere; it’s much stronger on the side of Earth closer to the Moon.

The ‘Roche Limit’ is a distance determined by the size, mass, and density of two gravitational bodies. For instance, the Sun can pulverize any comet that comes within 1.3 million kilometers of it. Similarly, Earth can tear apart a medium-sized comet from about 18,000 kilometers away. For the Moon, this Roche Limit is 9,500 kilometers. Any rings formed from debris the size of the Moon would likely be about 5,000 kilometers wide and roughly 9.5 meters thick.

Unlike Saturn’s icy rings, Earth’s rings would consist only of rock. Earth is too close to the Sun for ice to survive in its debris. Looking up, these rings would always be visible from Earth. Their brightness would make the Moon appear less brilliant (assuming the Moon still existed after the rings formed). However, if the Moon were to be shattered and appear as Earth’s rings, there would be nothing left to see of it, and it would transform into something else entirely.

Suddenly developing rings would disrupt the navigation systems of some animals on Earth. Furthermore, if insufficient sunlight could penetrate the rings directly, it would hinder photosynthesis and oxygen supply for various organisms. The rings’ shadow would prevent direct sunlight from reaching certain parts of Earth, causing those areas to become so cold that the shadowed regions of Earth would become almost uninhabitable.

Communication satellites are typically placed near Earth’s equator. Therefore, if Earth were to form rings, these satellites could be caught in rock storms. In such a scenario, if people wanted to take selfies with Earth’s rings, they would need to find another way to maintain internet connectivity.

It’s not entirely inconceivable that if Earth had always existed in a ringed state, with adequate sunlight and oxygen supply, life’s evolution might have proceeded similarly. However, an alternative means of communication would have to be developed, as launching satellites into a rock-filled orbit would no longer be possible.

Space could never be humanity’s ultimate frontier. Having rocky rings around Earth would create a kind of barbed-wire fence in orbit, effectively keeping humans grounded. Additionally, there’s a question of whether Earth’s rings, like Saturn’s, would last forever. There’s also the potential risk that as the rings age, their rocks could scatter and fall onto Earth.