History of Meteor shower in Timeline

A meteor shower is a celestial event where numerous meteors appear to radiate from a single point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by meteoroids, small pieces of cosmic debris, entering Earth's atmosphere at high speeds. Most meteoroids are tiny and burn up completely before reaching the surface. Intense showers, known as meteor outbursts or storms, can produce thousands of meteors per hour, like the Leonids. The Meteor Data Centre recognizes hundreds of suspected showers, with about 100 well-established. Resources like NASA provide information on viewing opportunities and maps of active showers.

1911: Death of George Johnstone Stoney

In 1911, Irish astronomer George Johnstone Stoney, who lived from 1826 to 1911, passed away. In the 1890s, Stoney and British astronomer Arthur Matthew Weld Downing attempted to calculate the position of dust at Earth's orbit.

1917: Death of Arthur Matthew Weld Downing

In 1917, British astronomer Arthur Matthew Weld Downing, who lived from 1850 to 1917, passed away. In the 1890s, Downing and Irish astronomer George Johnstone Stoney attempted to calculate the position of dust at Earth's orbit related to meteor showers.

1951: Fred Whipple Demonstrates Water Vapor Drag in Comets

In 1951, Fred Whipple demonstrated that comets can produce debris by water vapor drag, envisioning them as "dirty snowballs" made up of rock embedded in ice.

1966: Leonid storm of 1966

In 1966 there was a Leonid storm.

1981: Donald K. Yeomans reviews Leonid meteor shower history

In 1981, Donald K. Yeomans from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory reviewed the history of meteor showers for the Leonids and the dynamic orbit of Comet Tempel-Tuttle. He created a graph showing relative positions of Earth and the comet, and where Earth encountered dense dust, which was republished in Sky and Telescope.

1985: Kondrat'eva and Reznikov Identify Dust Release Years

In 1985, E. D. Kondrat'eva and E. A. Reznikov of Kazan State University correctly identified the years when dust released was responsible for past Leonid meteor storms.

1994: Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 Impact on Jupiter

In 1994, the Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 impacted Jupiter, forming a brief trail.

1995: Peter Jenniskens Predicts Alpha Monocerotids Outburst

In 1995, Peter Jenniskens predicted the 1995 Alpha Monocerotids outburst from dust trails.

1995: Observations of Alpha Monocerotids

Observations from the 1995 alpha Monocerotids demonstrated how the gravitational pull of planets determines where dust trails pass by Earth's orbit.

1999: Leonid storms of 1999

In 1999 there was a Leonid storm.

1999: McNaught, Asher, and Lyytinen Apply Dust Trail Method

In anticipation of the 1999 Leonid storm, Robert H. McNaught, David Asher, and Esko Lyytinen were the first to apply the dust trail method in the West to predict meteor showers.

2001: Leonid storms of 2001

In 2001 there were two Leonid storms.

2002: Leonid storms of 2002

In 2002 there were two Leonid storms.

2003: Discovery of Asteroid-Looking Objects

In 2003, asteroid-looking object (196256) 2003 EH1, origin of the Quadrantids, was discovered.

March 7, 2004: Martian meteor shower recorded by Spirit rover

On March 7, 2004, the panoramic camera on Mars Exploration Rover Spirit recorded a streak believed to have been caused by a meteor from a Martian meteor shower associated with comet 114P/Wiseman-Skiff.