This issue provides an in-depth historical account of the Leonid meteor storm of November 13, 1833, a spectacular astronomical event witnessed across the Deep South, including the area that would later become Berrien County, Georgia. Drawing on scientific studies, regional historical accounts, and 19th-century eyewitness descriptions, the newsletter discusses the nature of meteor showers and explains how Earth’s orbit intersected with debris from the Tempel-Tuttle comet, producing thousands of meteors per hour from midnight to dawn.

The document highlights the cultural impact of the event among early settlers, enslaved people, and religious communities, many of whom interpreted the falling stars as a supernatural or apocalyptic omen. It also traces how the 1833 Leonids influenced the development of modern meteor science, including early analyses by Yale astronomer Denison Olmsted, and documents the legacy of the event in Southern folklore and memory.

Subjects (Names): Jauslin, Karl; Olmsted, Denison; Pratt, Parley P.; Smith, Joseph; Tempel, William; Tuttle, Horace Parnell; Van Ravenswaay, Detlev