1907′s Trendiest Way For The World To End

The sun is a giver of life, at least until a dead planet hits it.

That was the hottest theory in 1907. According to famed astronomer John Gore, the world would end if a dead planet hit the sun. The planet would set off a chain reaction, causing the sun to explode with energy and destroy the Earth. Gore wrote:

When about fifteen million miles from the sun, the dark body would begin to shine by reflected light. It would look at first like a new and remote planet. In about ten years it would have become so bright as to be visible to the naked eye; in fourteen years it would be so bright as to attract general attention. In the fifteenth year it would be brighter than any object except the moon and its terrible approach would have created universal alarm. Very soon after would come the great catastrophe of its collision, moving at 400 miles per second, with the sun moving at the same speed. In the last moments of its approach there would be two moons in the sky.

Even though almost every paper in the country picked up the story, a dead planet never did hit the sun and cause the world to end—at least not yet.

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