On the night of November 12, 1833, the sky erupted in a storm of falling stars, turning darkness into a restless sea of light. The display was so overwhelming that countless onlookers were convinced they were witnessing the final moments of the world.​

That night lodged itself deep in cultural memory, inspiring artists, writers, and storytellers for generations afterward. The first image in this post comes from Austrian astronomer Edmund Weiß, who painted the scene in 1888 despite being born long after the stars had fallen,