1833 Leonid Meteorite Shower

One of the greatest meteor storms ever seen took place nearly 166 years ago over the eastern United States. During the 4 hours which preceded dawn on Nov. 13, 1833, the skies were lit up by thousands of shooting stars every minute. Newspapers of that era reveal that almost no one was unaware of the shower. If they were not alerted by the cries of excited neighbors, they were usually awakened by flashes of light cast into normally dark bedrooms by the fireballs.  The great display of shooting stars was caused by debris from comet Tempel-Tuttle which had recently returned to the inner solar system during its 33 year journey around the Sun. The storm marked the discovery of the annual Leonids meteor shower and is widely regarded as the birth of modern meteor astronomy.

http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast22jun99_2.htm

Do you use a news reader? Makes it very easy to monitor the 'Prairie Pooch Hole' and other feeds! Click on this line for instructions.