Take a look at some of the Cassini images of Saturn, for instance, and you will see that the rings cast quite a substantial shadow on the planet.
The shadow of the ring would probably have some effect on weather, but I very much doubt if it would cause any tectonic effects at all. It's certainly true that any satellites would have to orbit outside the limits of the ring.
You are absolutely right about the gaps. What I wanted to show is what Saturn's rings would look like if they circled the earth instead, so I used the rings of that planet as we know them, largely so there'd be that visual comparison.
The perspective is correct. The 180 degree view introduces distortions that you would not see in a normal naked-eye view.
The rings would have no tidal effect on the earth at all.
They may well have, since they would cast a pretty substantial shadow on the planet, especially during the solstices.
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.
Well, of course. But the lunar polar craters are evidently not the location of any detectable hot spots, such as might be caused by geothermal sources...especially since the moon is for all intents and purposes geologically dead (in spite of the occasional moonquake and reported outgassing).
It's unfortunate that we're not looking south in the Saturn view. The rings would be arching up from horizon to horizon nearly halfway to the zenith. Be a pretty impressive sight! (and, now that I've said that, I think I just might have to show what that would look like...)
I suspect they are talking about planets. If you include things like moons and whatnot, there are places colder than Neptune. Some of the coldest places in the solar system are the bottoms of craters near the poles of our own moon. These are places that never see sunlight.
