Christopher McKitterick's Blog, page 4

My tweets

Tue, 12:29 : Video: SpaceX launches the Falcon 9 rocket, delivers satellites, and lands the 1st stage back on Earth! https://t.co/oqzg2yh1wJ Tue, 13:52 : Bloomingdale’s and Bud Light date-rape ads: https://t.co/uq1qP9Q96B

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Thu, 08:31 : Hockey/figure-skating hybrid: https://t.co/VGJIarJIRA

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Mon, 08:08 : Serial rapist and ex-cop Daniel Holtzclaw convicted and facing 260 years: https://t.co/owzfJlujPm Mon, 11:01 : Writing reference - 23 emotions people feel but can seldom articulate: https://t.co/6QW7E6632E Mon, 17:03 : YA author Tessa Gratton on gender politics and choice. Smart and moving: https://t.co/f81ELDLUO9

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Sun, 10:17 : Military AI learns as fast as a human. Hello, baby SkyNet: https://t.co/3QorTNkhdB Sun, 11:41 :

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Sun, 09:28 :

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Wed, 22:24 : The Rose Galaxies - beautiful: https://t.co/Me4BYDaHg2 Wed, 23:57 : One donut to rule them all: https://t.co/uYQjq7PeKA Thu, 10:46 : Using the ngram viewer to determine the appropriate vocabulary in your writing: https://t.co/DJsu6T1Gw6

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Tue, 09:21 : Amazing video of Mount Etna erupting: https://t.co/zpVVBzN323

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Tue, 09:58 : What would Earth's skies look like with Saturn-like rings? Ron Miller illustrates: https://t.co/4ryKgXFlKL Wed, 09:27 : Momma squirrel takes an almond from my hand. Turn up the volume to hear her tiny growl: https://t.co/rVRoEXO1BV

What would Earth's skies look like with Saturn-like rings?

Illustrator and author Ron Miller specializes in, among other things, incredible visualizations of other worlds. He has rendered the surface of Titan, peered into black holes for Discover magazine, and designed a Pluto stamp that is currently hurtling toward the far reaches of our solar system aboard the New Horizons spacecraft. Now, Miller brings his visualizations back to Earth for a series exploring what our skies would look like with Saturn's majestic rings. Miller strived to make the images scientifically accurate, adding nice touches like orange-pink shadows resulting from sunlight passing through the Earth's atmosphere. He also shows the rings from a variety of latitudes and landscapes, from the U.S. Capitol building to Mayan ruins in Guatemala.

We'll start with Washington, D.C. and work south.


Ron Miller

Rings over Washington D.C.
From Washington, D.C., the rings only fill a portion of the sky, but appear striking nonetheless. Here, we see them at sunrise.


Ron Miller

Rings from Guatemala
From Guatemala, only 14 degrees above the equator, the rings begin to stretch across the horizon. Their reflected light makes the moon much brighter.


Ron Miller

Saturn's rings from Earth's equator
From Earth's equator, Saturn's rings are visible edge-on, appearing as a thin, bright line bisecting the sky.


Ron Miller

Equinox at the equator
At the March and September equinoxes, the Sun is positioned directly over the rings, casting a dramatic shadow at the equator.


Ron Miller

Tropic of Capricorn, midnight
At midnight at the Tropic of Capricorn, which sits at 23 degrees south latitude, the Earth casts a shadow over the middle of the rings, while the outer portions remain lit.

Gallery assembled by Jason Davis for the Planetary Society.

My tweets

Mon, 00:25 : Dark matter threads potentially stream out from Earth: https://t.co/D305pe2fqw