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Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle starts with a prologue at JPL, where scientists are observing a "braided" ring around Saturn that is later revealed to be caused by the ion drive of the Fifthp mothership as it emerges from its hiding place. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land mentions the Martians' destruction of the "fifth planet" because of the disharmonious nature of its inhabitants, leading to what we know as the asteroid belt.
