Fictional Planets of The Solar System - Rogue Planets

Rogue Planets

Rogue planets in fiction usually originate outside the solar system, but their erratic paths lead them to within detectable range of Earth. In reality, no rogue planet has ever been detected transiting the Solar System.

• When Worlds Collide (1933), novel by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer: Extrasolar planets Bronson Alpha and Bronson Beta enter the Solar System: Bronson Alpha destroys the Earth, Bronson Beta assumes its orbit.
• Flash Gordon (1934), comic by Alex Raymond: Rogue planet Mongo threatens to collide with Earth.
• Super-Neutron (1941) short story by Isaac Asimov, where it is claimed that a rogue planet could cause the Sun to explode.
• The Man from Planet X (1951) is an early space-alien film. In the film, the orbit of the hitherto unknown extrasolar Planet X brings it close to Earth.
• The Tenth Planet (1966), serial of the Doctor Who TV series: An extrasolar planet, Mondas, enters the solar system beyond Pluto, making it temporarily the tenth planet. It originated in the solar system with an orbit near that of Earth before the native Cybermen powered it with an engine and moved it out of the solar system.
• The first episode of Space: 1999, a science fiction series of the mid-1970s, involved an exploration of a rogue planet named Meta.
• Transformers (1984) toys and spinoffs: Cybertron is a robot-inhabited rogue planet that comes close to Earth.
• Sunstorm (novel) (2005): an alien race from the star system of Altair sends a rogue Jovian planet into the Sun, setting the stage for a solar storm intended to wipe out humanity in the year 2042.
• Melancholia (2011): the planet Melancholia is on collision course with Earth, but is first believed to be simply passing by. The planet ultimately collides with Earth, causing the end of the world at the conclusion of the movie.