Read "Worlds in Collision" (1950) by Immanuel Velikovsky for a very interesting similar theory, and the evidence that brought it about. The information gained in the space age has confirmed some of his assumptions from way back then, and failed to refute others.
Where do you think I got it from? ;-)
Actually, that and another interesting book called “The biblical flood and the ice epoch”. The author originally thought the planet that got close was Venus, but he changed his position on which planet, though I can’t recall which one.
The information gained in the space age has confirmed some of his assumptions from way back then, and failed to refute others.
Then we got a good look at the planets, we gained a better understanding of the record of life, and now EVERYONE is a catastrophist.
Which side had to change? ;-)
Velikovsky? Seriously?
My dad was as straight an arrow as you could find, a top systems engineer on defense projects during the cold war. But he would occasionally mention Velikovsky as something that immensely intrigued him. I think he read it in the 60s and never forgot it. "Catastrophism" he called it, the idea that there were catastrophes that reshaped the earth, perhaps wiping away advanced civilizations and resetting mankind back to zero, over and over.
Going through his library now that he's passed, I find it filled with books on this theme by writers like Zecharia Sitchin (whose ancient astronaut stuff I don't think he bought into but whose recounting of the myths of Sumeria was of great interest) and Graham Hancock (who, based on all the handwritten margin notes, intrigued him immensely). However Velikovsky is missing, something I've regretted as I wouldn't mind skimming it to see what first got him interested.