First known record of U.S. observation of meteor showerIn 1799, Andrew Ellicott wrote the first known record of a meteor shower observed in the U.S. He viewed the display from a ship off the coast of Florida Keys at full moon. He wrote: “In every instant the meteors were as numerous as the stars,” and that the “whole heaven appeared as if illuminated with sky rockets, flying in an infinity of directions, and I was in constant expectation of some of them falling on the vessel. They continued until put out by the light of the sun after day break.” His account was read to the American Philosophical Society on 16 Jan 1801. The Leonids meteor shower is an annual event that is greatly enhanced every 33 years when accompanied by the appearance of the comet Tempel-Tuttle «[Image: illustration from The Midnight Sky by Edward Dunkin (1872)] |
