Abstract:
On November 13, 1833, the Leonid meteor shower occurred over North Carolina and was reportedly one of the most spectacular meteor showers in history. Eyewitnesses claimed it appeared all of the stars were falling from the sky, and some people thought that the phenomenon meant it was Judgment Day. The author gives the newspaper accounts from the newspapers from New Bern, Tarboro, and Raleigh. People were superstitious and went on their roofs and to tombstones in cemeteries with brushes and a jar to gather “star dust.”