The Leonid meteor shower happens every November, when  perhaps a few dozen
"shooting stars" can be seen. But on the night of November 12–13, 1833, the meteor shower of the Leonids lit up the night sky over North America and the shower was so spectacular that some people thought the world was ending.
 
It’s estimated that 150,000 meteors were visible, with some comparing it to snowflakes falling from the sky. The shower was described as a flashing light or a rain of shooting stars that made the sky appear like morning.
 
Some people were terrified and saw it as a sign of the end of the world. The Cheyenne established a peace treaty because of it and the Lakota calendar was reset. Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass took note of the event. Joseph Smith. the founder of Mormonism, believed the event was a fulfillment of God’s word and a sign of the second coming of Christ.