When the Asteroid Hits: Earth Impacts and Extinction Events in Popular Culture

by Allen A. Debus

Overview

The incomprehensible notion of a very large chunk of ice or rock from outer space smashing into the Earth has only become mainstream within the past two centuries. Though early writers imagined the utterly fantastic consequences of comet collisions and speculated on the devastation they might wreak, it was not until the 1980s when scientists finally resolved that dinosaurs were extinguished by an asteroid 66 million years ago. This startling announcement captivated the media and tilted the science fiction world but in reality, history may have been punctuated repeatedly by such events.

This book collects and analyzes ideas of asteroid, comet, and planetary impacts with Earth spanning two centuries, from the first realization of extinctions in fossil records to the new millennium, reflected in scores of sci-fi stories, films, and televised science documentaries. The author examines social and geopolitical fears tied to the prospect of a cosmic-borne catastrophe. Science, fiction, and speculation are artfully melded.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476694580
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	10/03/2024
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.62(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Allen A. Debus, a retired environmental chemist, has long been infatuated with dinosaurs, paleontology, science fiction, Godzilla and King Kong. He has written several books addressing prehistoric creatures—both real and fictional—in popular culture, and attends Chicagoland’s Wizard World and G-Fest. He is a member of the G-Fan Hall of Fame and lives in Hanover Park, Illinois.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface: Warning from Space
Introduction: What Goes Around Comes Around
One. Mammoths and Comets in Popular Culture—Early Perspectives
Two. On Comets: Inflicting Terror and Angst in Modernity—A Popular View
Three. Target—Earth!
Four. Worlds in Collision
Five. Mid-Century Descent into Quackery?
Six. Fossil Impact—Kentland Interlude
Seven. Hammer Fall
Eight. Inextricably Linked—Asteroids and Dinosaurs Enter Mainstream
Nine. Cycle of Cosmic Catastrophes: Nemesis—Death Star Days
Ten. Time Travels—Reality of Instantaneity!
Eleven. Mammoths, Meteorites, and Supernovae—Life on the Fringe
Twelve. Megadeaths—Demonology and Fates of Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Man
Epilogue
Appendix: What Happened Before Could Befall Us Again! (Visualizing Asteroid Impacts and Comet Collisions)
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index