History of Meteor shower in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: March 17, 2026

A meteor shower is a celestial event where numerous meteors appear to originate from a single point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by meteoroids, streams of cosmic debris, entering Earth's atmosphere at high speeds. Typically, meteors are small, often disintegrating before reaching the surface. Intense showers, known as outbursts or storms (like the Leonids), can produce over 1,000 meteors per hour. The Meteor Data Centre lists many suspected showers, with about 100 well-established. Resources like NASA provide information on viewing opportunities and active showers.

1911: George Johnstone Stoney's Death

In 1911, Irish astronomer George Johnstone Stoney, who had been calculating the position of dust at Earth's orbit, passed away.

1917: Arthur Matthew Weld Downing's Death

In 1917, British astronomer Arthur Matthew Weld Downing, who had been calculating the position of dust at Earth's orbit, passed away.

1933: Draconids meteor storm of 1933

In 1933, the Draconids produced a meteor storm.

1946: Draconids meteor storm of 1946

In 1946, the Draconids produced a meteor storm, with zenithal hourly rates of thousands of meteors per hour.

1951: Whipple demonstrates water vapor drag in comets

In 1951, Fred Whipple demonstrated that comets can produce debris by water vapor drag and by breakup, envisioning comets as "dirty snowballs".

1951: Fred Whipple's Comet Model

In 1951, Fred Whipple proposed that comets are "dirty snowballs" that shed meteoritic debris as their volatiles are ablated by solar energy in the inner Solar System.

1966: Leonid meteor storm of 1966

The Leonid meteor storm in 1966 was one of the most intense, recording peak rates that exceeded 120,000 meteors per hour.

1981: Donald K. Yeomans reviews Leonid meteor shower history

In 1981, Donald K. Yeomans of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory reviewed the history of meteor showers for the Leonids and the history of the dynamic orbit of Comet Tempel-Tuttle, showing relative positions of the Earth and Tempel-Tuttle and marking where Earth encountered dense dust.

1985: Identification of Leonid meteor storm source years

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

1994: Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 impact on Jupiter

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

1995: Prediction of 1995 Alpha Monocerotids outburst

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

1995: Observations of alpha Monocerotids

In 1995, observations of the alpha Monocerotids demonstrated how the gravitational pull of planets affects the dust trail's path near Earth's orbit, leading to meteor showers in some years.

1999: Leonid meteor storm of 1999

In 1999, there was a Leonid meteor storm.

1999: Application of dust trail method for Leonid storm

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

2001: Leonid meteor storms of 2001

In 2001, there were Leonid meteor storms.

2002: Leonid meteor storms of 2002

In 2002, there were Leonid meteor storms.

2003: Origin of Quadrantids and Geminids

In 2003, Peter Jenniskens argued that short-period meteor showers like Quadrantids and Geminids are from infrequent disintegrations of dormant comets.

March 7, 2004: Meteor on Mars recorded by Spirit

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

2006: Jenniskens publishes future dust trail predictions

In 2006, Jenniskens published predictions for future dust trail encounters covering the next 50 years.

December 20, 2007: Expected strong display from a shower associated with comet 114P/Wiseman-Skiff

A strong display was expected on December 20, 2007, from a Martian meteor shower associated with comet 114P/Wiseman-Skiff.

2017: IMO Meteor Shower Calendar

The IMO Meteor Shower Calendar 2017 features maps of drifting "fixed points" of meteor showers.

August 2028: Potential Perseids meteor storm in August 2028

Finnish astronomer Esko Lyytinen predicted a potential Perseids meteor storm in August 2028, with peak rates of at least 1,000 meteors per hour possible.