From: Alex Michael Bonnici (albonnici_at_vol.net.mt)
Date: Sat Aug 27 2005 - 20:59:17 UTC
Hello Gang,
Last summer in the August of 2004 I gave a lecture
concerning "The Peril and Promise of Asteroids" and during the course of
my presentation I made a statement "that occasionally worlds large and
small collide" and that set into motion a chain of thought that made me
recall the 1951 motion picture that I saw a number of times on TV as a
kid living in the states. That of course lead me to AMAZON. COM looking
for the DVD and the book I once saw in a bookstore as a kid. I read the
book in September 2004, and its a fantastic read. Two rouge planets
Bronson Alpha (the size of Uranus) and Bronson Beta (a terrestrial moon
or is it Sagan Moon) in orbit around it, hurtle toward the solar
system—one of them on a direct collision course with Earth. High time
Spielberg made a remake and a sequel "After Worlds Collide". Below is a
bit of reference material concerning the novels from David Darling's
Space Encyclopedia.
Enjoy,
Alex
When Worlds Collide
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A 1932 science fiction novel by Philip Wylie (1902-1971) and Edwin
Balmer (1883-1959), of enduring appeal, in which two rogue planets,
Bronson Alpha and Bronson Beta, hurtle toward the solar system—one of
them on a direct collision course with Earth. As the interlopers
approach, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and giant tidal waves
devastate our planet. In North America, a team of scientists race to
build a spacecraft that will ferry them to the second of the two alien
worlds, which will enter orbit around the Sun after its sister planet
and Earth have been destroyed. Paramount bought the film rights to the
story in 1934 and intended it as a project for Cecil B. DeMille. In
fact, De Mille chose to make Cleopatra instead and it was not until 1951
that When Worlds Collide was brought to the big screen by George Pal.
Wylie and Balmer also wrote a sequel called After Worlds Collide, in
which the survivors find evidence of an alien civilization on their new
home planet.
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