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Leonid History
The story of the Leonids is a varied one. It officially begins at the beginning of the 10th century when the first accounts appeared indicating that "stars fell like rain." Similar brief accounts would appear for the next several centuries, at roughly 33-years intervals, in the written records of the Asian, European, and Muslim cultures. The very last years of the 18th century showed some signs of an increased curiousity in meteors. First, Heinrich W. Brandes and Johann F. Benzenberg (University of Göttingen) carried out an experiment to observe meteors at two different locations. The result was that they discovered meteors became visible at an average height of 97 kilometers.
Up to this time it was believed meteors originated within Earth's atmosphere, but the Brandes-Benzenberg experiment revealed meteors traveled at several kilometers per second which indicated an origin outside Earth's atmosphere. The second significant event that happened at the end of the 18th century was on November 12 of 1799, when the Leonids appeared and, for the first time, were actually observed by scientists who provided detailed accounts. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm was short-lived. Although less than a handful of astronomers began to systematically observe meteors during the 1820s, little came out of these observations other than the fact that more meteors fell on some nights of the year than on others.
This all changed on the night of November 12/13, 1833. It is true that people were awoke from their sleep by the screams of people believing the world was coming to an end, but astronomers rushed to make as detailed of observations as possible. By the time morning twilight began washing out the display in the United States, one very important fact was apparent. This meteor display appeared to radiate from one spot in the sky. Within the next few years it was realized that when enhanced displays of meteors occurred they radiated from one area of the sky. This led to the determination that meteors moved around the sun in elliptical orbits and then came the realization that comets produced meteor showers.
If you are interested in reading the details of the observations and how the Leonids brought about the birth of meteor astronomy, click on the links below.
Ancient
and Medieval • 1799
• 1833-1997
1966 • 1998
• 1999
• 2000
The 1833 Leonid meteor storm was observed
and
recorded by various Sioux tribes in the region
around North and South Dakota.
Digital image copyright ©1998
by Gary W. Kronk and Eric S. Young
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