                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2024 December 10
    A black and white drawing shows many meteors crossing the sky above a
        small town with many people outside watching. Please see the
                 explanation for more detailed information.

                       The Great Meteor Storm of 1833
      Image Credit: Engraving: Adolf Vollmy; Original Art: Karl Jauslin

   Explanation: It was a night of 100,000 meteors. The Great Meteor Storm
   of 1833 was perhaps the most impressive meteor event in recent history.
   Best visible over eastern North America during the pre-dawn hours of
   November 13, many people -- including a young Abraham Lincoln -- were
   woken up to see the sky erupt in streaks and flashes. Hundreds of
   thousands of meteors blazed across the sky, seemingly pouring out of
   the constellation of the Lion (Leo). The featured image is a
   digitization of a wood engraving which itself was based on a painting
   from a first-person account. We know today that the Great Meteor Storm
   of 1833 was caused by the Earth moving through a dense part of the dust
   trail expelled from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. The Earth moves through this
   dust stream every November during the Leonid meteor shower. Later this
   week you might get a slight taste of the intensity of that 1833 meteor
   storm by witnessing the annual Geminid meteor shower.

                Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator
                     Tomorrow's picture: jets and shells
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

