🚀 go-pugleaf

-> What are the Leonids?
-> What did the Leonids do in 1799 and 1833 that was spectacular?

This is a meteor shower that reaches peak activity around November 16th
each year.  Normally, the numbers are fairly low, but once every 33
years (the period of the parent comet), very spectacular displays
can occur.  Obviously, there is a concentration of cometary debris at
one point along the orbit.  The shower (or perhaps "storm" would be more
appropriate) was especially heavy in 1833 and 1866, when as many as
20,000 meteors could be seen within a few hours.  (I'm not sure about
1799, but the timing would be about right.  One of these displays
served as the inspiration for the song "Stars Fell on Alabama.")  The
last really good Leonid shower occurred in 1966.