Leonid meteor shower of 1866. Historical artwork of steam and sailing ships observing the Leonid meteor shower off the coast of Florida, USA, in the early morning of 14 November 1866. This meteor shower occurs every year when Earth passes through clouds of debris from the comet Temple-Tuttle. This dusty debris is rapidly heated as it impacts the atmosphere, causing streaks of light known as shooting stars. Two of the most impressive Leonid meteor showers were in 1833 and 1866 when the Earth passed through very dense clouds of debris. At this meteor shower's peak, hundreds of shooting stars were visible in just a few minutes.