Saturn is the second-largest planet in the solar system, and will never fall in toward the sun. However, animator Yeti Dynamics created a video showing what would happen if the giant planet were to make a close encounter with the Earth - closer than the moon.
The film shows what the night sky would look like, and how it would change, over the course of months, as Saturn approached and passed our world. In the film, gravitational effects are ignored, except for one quick mention of when the Earth would be ripped apart by tidal forces.
The video was created using some images from the Voyager spacecraft, which visited the gas giant in November 1980 and August 1981. These were combined with pictures taken since 2004 by the orbiting Cassini spacecraft.
"To create the rings, I interpolated between the two data sets, so the rings are a mix between voyager and Cassini data, there are multiple textures used, for scattering, translucency, transparency, and color. I think I probably have some of the highest resolution textures in use anywhere on the web (over 19k pixels across)," the creator wrote on the video description.
Data collected between the two missions was not always in agreement, especially in fine details of ring structure.
Saturn is now reaching opposition, placing the planet behind the Earth as seen from the sun. This will allow amateur astronomers and skygazers to view the ringed planet, which will be visible all night, moving from east to west. Saturn will be due south at around 1 a.m. local daylight time. Even in a small telescope, the ringed planet can be a stunning sight, and is a favorite of children looking into an eyepiece for the first time.
If this scenario were ever to occur in real life, gravity from Saturn would cause volcanoes to erupt, and fault lines to fracture, creating massive earthquakes and tsunamis. Tidal forces from the moon cause seas to rise around three feet, and land by one-third that amount. Saturn, passing by at the distances depicted in the video, would be 200,000 times as powerful, ripping the planet apart.
Such a close encounter would also have unfortunate effects on Saturn, as well. The rings would be heavily damaged, and would create a long stream of ice and rock pellets from the remaining structure.
Months before the destruction of the Earth, when Saturn was as far away as Mars, it would already be as bright as the full moon. Together, the bodies would make it possible to read outside without need for artificial light. That may be the most enjoyable part of such a scenario.
The photorealistic video is available on the Yeti Dynamics' YouTube page.
