Hollywood has been hitting asteroids long before NASA -

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was a success. For the first time in history, NASA has managed to hit an asteroid and change its course. This is, however, nothing new in Hollywood. In fact, there are numerous movies about the end of the world. Among these, there are some about asteroids and other celestial bodies on collision course with Earth. 

In this gallery, we revisit the times Hollywood hit asteroids long before NASA did.

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NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test -

On September 26, 2022 at 23:14 UTC, NASA made history. For the first time ever, they managed to hit and deflect an asteroid's course.

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NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test -

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test was launched from Earth in November 2021. The impact occurred nearly a year later, and proved to be a successful method of planetary defense against near-Earth objects.

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NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test -

A television at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, shows the moment the minor-planet moon Dimorphos is hit by NASA's probe on September 26, 2022.

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Hollywood -

While Dimorphos didn't really pose a risk to Earth, some asteroids might in the future. Hollywood has been exploring this possibility for years, and many movies have been made about it. Now, let's take a look at some of these films.

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'When Worlds Collide' (1951) -

This 1951 movie is based on Philip Gordon Wylie and Edwin Balmer’s 1932 science fiction novel 'When Worlds Collide.'

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'When Worlds Collide' (1951) -

Unlike some other movies about asteroids, in this one there is no way to escape Earth's fate. 'When Worlds Collide' focuses on what happens to a group of survivors who build a spaceship and try to escape doomsday.

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'The Monolith Monsters' (1957) -

Life changes completely for the residents of a small town in Arizona when a meteorite falls in the area.

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'The Monolith Monsters' (1957) -

The space rock leaves hundreds of black fragments, which turn into giant crystals when exposed to water.

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'The Day the Sky Exploded' (1958) -

'The Day the Sky Exploded' is credited as the first science fiction movie made in Italy.

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'The Day the Sky Exploded' (1958) -

A group of scientists discover that a number of meteors are on a collision course with Earth. The solution? Using nuclear weapons to destroy them.

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'The Phantom Planet' (1961) -

A group of astronauts land on an asteroid, only to get shrunk by the celestial body's atmosphere.

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'The Green Slime' (1968) -

A group of scientists manages to destroy an asteroid, but they bring back a strange substance to Earth.

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'The Green Slime' (1968) -

Then the green substance turns into a monster and all hell breaks loose!

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'Moon Zero Two' (1969) -

This movie is essentially about a group of criminals who try to hijack a valuable asteroid made of sapphire.

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'Moon Zero Two' (1969) -

Interestingly, this film, which was billed as a space Western in the US, is set in the year 2021.

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'Meteor' (1979) -

This movie, starring Sean Connery and Natalie Wood, sees the US and the USSR joining forces to save the world from an asteroid on the way to Earth.

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'Meteor' (1979) -

The two superpowers put their differences aside and manage to destroy the threat using missiles.

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'Night of the Comet' (1984) -

Okay, it's not an asteroid, but it comes close! A comet not only strikes Earth, wiping out virtually all life, but it also brings cannibal zombies to our planet.

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'Night of the Comet' (1984) -

It's then up to two Valley Girls, played by Catherine Mary Stewart and Kelli Maroney, to fight them!

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'Deep Impact' (1998) -

As you'll see, 1998 was a good year for this film subgenre. 'Deep Impact' sees a comet on a collision course with Earth.

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'Deep Impact' (1998) -

The movie features really impressive special effects, including a megatsunami hitting the East coast of the US.

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'Armageddon' (1998) -

'Armageddon' was the second doomsday movie to come out in 1998, and indeed became an international box-office hit.

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'Armageddon' (1998) -

The movie is essentially about a group of drillers who are sent by NASA to destroy a huge asteroid that is on a collision course with Earth.

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'Seeking a Friend for the End of the World' (2012) -

This movie, starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley, sees a man being left by his wife and taking a road trip with a neighbor to go see his high school sweetheart.

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'Seeking a Friend for the End of the World' (2012) -

Of course, there is an asteroid on collision course with Earth, which threatens to obliterate the planet!

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'Ice Age: Collision Course' (2016) -

This is the fifth movie in the Ice Age animated film franchise.

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'Ice Age: Collision Course' (2016) -

The story is essentially about a group of animals trying to stop an asteroid from hitting Earth.

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'Don’t Look Up' (2021) -

The last movie on our list is from 2021 and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence playing two astronomers trying to warn humankind about doomsday.

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'Don’t Look Up' (2021) -

The two go on a media campaign to warn the world that an asteroid is on collision course with Earth, and that it will destroy the planet. 

Sources: (Creepy Catalog) 

See also: What is the Doomsday Clock?

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