100,000 meteors lit night sky in historic 1833 storm

On Nov. 13, 1833, 100,000 meteors cascaded down. This meteor storm is recorded as the most remarkable meteor phenomenon in history. Many people, including Abraham Lincoln, witnessed the sky erupting with streaks and flashes. It is said that hundreds of thousands of meteors blazed across the sky, seemingly pouring out from the constellation Leo. The above engraving is based on a painting by Swiss artist Karl Jauslin that was inspired by eyewitness accounts of the meteors. This meteor storm was found to have occurred as Earth passed through a dust cloud ejected by the Tempel-Tuttle comet. Earth travels through this dust cloud annually during the Leonids meteor shower period in November. Observing this week's annual Geminids meteor shower will offer a slight taste of the 1833 meteor storm.