Realistic-looking Saturn rings?

[diamonddog_74]

Is there a way to make the ring system of Saturn look more like the real thing (a smooth platter)? It just displays like a whole bunch of pebbles orbiting the planet. I know that in real life that's what they are, but only when you get very close. Not sure if my computer is having a hard time with them, or if I need to tweak the game settings.

[Perriwen]

I could be wrong, but I am fairly sure the 'platter' look is more due to the shutter speed and the speed at which the particles move. Remember, space has little light and most of these photos are taken from great distances, which require the shutter of the cameras to be open for a long time. If you take a picture of a plane at night at a low shutter speed, you'll notice the lights create a streak affect similar to what it looks like if you look closely at the photos of the rings.

[paul]

Originally posted by diamonddog_74:

Is there a way to make the ring system of Saturn look more like the real thing (a smooth platter)? It just displays like a whole bunch of pebbles orbiting the planet. I know that in real life that's what they are, but only when you get very close. Not sure if my computer is having a hard time with them, or if I need to tweak the game settings.

Try speeding up the time, see if that does anything.

[paul]

Originally posted by Perriwen:

I could be wrong, but I am fairly sure the 'platter' look is more due to the shutter speed and the speed at which the particles move. Remember, space has little light and most of these photos are taken from great distances, which require the shutter of the cameras to be open for a long time. If you take a picture of a plane at night at a low shutter speed, you'll notice the lights create a streak affect similar to what it looks like if you look closely at the photos of the rings.

So the asteroids speed very fast? That would explain why they orbit around Saturn.

[diamonddog_74]

That makes sense.

[avegiraffe]

Originally posted by Perriwen:

I could be wrong, but I am fairly sure the 'platter' look is more due to the shutter speed and the speed at which the particles move. Remember, space has little light and most of these photos are taken from great distances, which require the shutter of the cameras to be open for a long time. If you take a picture of a plane at night at a low shutter speed, you'll notice the lights create a streak affect similar to what it looks like if you look closely at the photos of the rings.

I don't think it's anything quite as complex as that.

Saturns rings are made up of BILLIONS of particles orbiting the planet. Now count the number of particles you see when you add 'Saturn Rings' to the planet.

How to get billions then? Just keep clicking Saturn Rings, spawning more and more. Keep going until your PC crashes.

Universe Sandbox's primary purpose is to test physics -- which means how the rings operate with gravity, etc -- so the ring options are realistic from a physics standpoint, but not realistic in terms of showing how Saturn's rings would look.

It's a shame there's not the option to test a realistic set of rings presented in a solid ring shape with the physics disabled (essentially like a picture), so you can accurately visualise the impact of seasons and such and how they impact the aesthetic of the ring.