Ogilvy was the assistant astronomer at the observatory in London that spotted the flashes on Mars that marked the coming of the Martians, and suggested they were some kind of volcanic activity. The journalist, who was with him at the time, voiced a concern raised by some that they heralded the Martians coming to Earth to invade; Ogilvy poo-poohed the idea, stating that "the chances of anything coming from Mars" were millions to one.