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"The trouble with too much genre SF is that it's so obviously the product of the conscious mind."
- William Gibson
 |
| Wandering Worlds | ||
| Planets that are attached to no sun, and roam interstellar space. |
This is probably the earliest reference to a planet that is not gravitationally bound to a star.
| Bronson's calculations revealed to him that these wandering spheres would pass very close to the earth, make a circuit of our sun, and turn back toward space and infinity. The larger of the two wandering worlds would strike and annihilate the earth. Finer and more delicate calculations tended to show that the smaller body, which was of the same magnitude as the earth, would be "caught" by the sun and held in an orbit between the courses of Mars and Venus.
It would be an end of the world preceded by the close passage of two mighty planets from some sun lost in the void - two planets which had been pulled from their pathways ages ago by a passing star... |
| Technovelgy from When Worlds Collide,
by Edwin Balmer (w/P. Wylie). Published by University of Nebraska Press in 1932 Additional resources -
|
See also Xenephrene Interstellar World from A Brand New World (1942) by Ray Cummings, rogue planet from Poul Anderson's 1967 novel Satan's World and rogue world from George R.R. Martin's 1977 novel Dying of the Light.
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from When Worlds Collide
More Ideas
and Technology by Edwin Balmer (w/P. Wylie)
Tech news articles related to When Worlds Collide
Tech news articles related to works by Edwin Balmer (w/P. Wylie)
Wandering Worlds-related
news articles:
- More Nomad Planets Than Stars?
- Free-Floating Planet Capture Not Rare, Says Paper
- Earth A Rogue Planet? A Wandering World?
| The New Habitable Zones Include Asimov's Ribbon Worlds |
| Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again? |
| Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution |
| Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri |
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...'
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...'
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
