November 12, 1799: First meteor shower on record
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On Nov. 12, 1799, Andrew Ellicott, an American astronomer, saw the Leonid meteor shower. This is the first time he had ever seen a meteor shower, and the first time a meteor shower was recorded in North America.
Ellicott recorded the sighting in his journal. Listen to today's podcast to hear some of the poetic language he used that certainly does not appear in the Twitters and TikToks of today.
Though language may have changed over the years, the Leonids remains an annual event. However, every 33 years, comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle shows up and enhances the meteor shower's appearance.
Ellicott and his observations are credited for the inception of the organized study of meteor astronomy. Learn more about how this science discipline was born on today's episode of "This Day In Weather History".
"This Day In Weather History” is a daily podcast by The Weather Network that features unique and informative stories from host Chris Mei.
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