Sorry for the double post, but if I don't set this to pen now, surely I will forget it and the thought will become lost.
Did Immanuel Velikovsky get the idea for his work, "Worlds in Collision" from the science fiction author H.G Wells? Velikovsky published WiC in 1950, though of course it was written earlier. H.G. Wells published the following works (which, thanks to the glory on the internet, you can read online) as indicated:
The Star, a short story, described what happens when a planet cuts loose, flies by Earth, destroys most everything then dives into the sun. The ending is cute/humbling. In the Days of the Comet, a huge comet comes close to destroying Earth, but doesn't, though the tailing gases leave more than one guesses behind.
No dragons, however, though I recently spotted one that may not fit the current paradigm.