The Great Meteor Storm of 1833 | The Night the Stars Fell from the Sky On the night of November 12, 1833, the world looked up — and thought it was ending. Tens of thousands of meteors lit up the skies over North America in the Great Leonids Meteor Storm, the most intense ever recorded. Churches filled with terrified worshippers, travelers dropped to their knees, and some believed Judgment Day had come. But it wasn’t the apocalypse — it was the universe putting on one unforgettable show. Leonids