[Observations of Shooting and Falling Stars (Leonids)]

In 1839, the Harvard Corporation appointed William Cranch Bond, the first Astronomical Observer, to the University, thereby taking the first step in establishing the Harvard College Observatory, after which the first telescope was installed in 1847. Scholars and students had studied astronomy at Harvard since the seventeenth century, but it wasn't until a large comet sparked public interest in 1843 that donors began donating funds to build an observatory. During the tenure of the Harvard College Observatory's first three directors, William Cranch Bond (1839-1859), George Phillips Bond (1859-1865), and Joseph Winlock (1866-1875), the Observatory's research focused on lunar photography and chronometric activities. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, under the direction of Edward C. Pickering (1877-1919), research shifted from celestial mechanics and positional astronomy to astrophysics. As a result, the Observatory developed into a major research institution, focusing on photographic star surveys and spectroscopic analysis, culminating in the publication of the Henry Draper Catalogue, with spectroscopic classifications for 225,300 stars. During Pickering's tenure, many women astronomers, including Annie Jump Cannon, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, and Williamina Fleming, performed essential research at the Observatory.

During the next several years, the Observatory became an important center for astronomical training and research. Harlow Shapley, director from 1921 to 1952, inaugurated a graduate study program in astronomy. Mandating that public education be a part of the Observatory's mission, Shapley required students in the Harvard program to present lectures on astronomy to public school children. Donald H. Menzel (1952-1966) arranged a cooperative relationship with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (founded in 1890) and its relocation to Cambridge in 1955. Financial support for the Observatory expanded under Leo Goldberg (1966-1970), and in 1973 George B. Field (1972-1983) created an administrative umbrella organization, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, to coordinate the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Harvard College Observatory's programs. Today, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics continues studies in astronomy, Earth and space sciences, and science education, while the Harvard College Observatory supports Harvard's Department of Astronomy.

The Leonids are a recurring meteor shower that occurs in November, once every 33 years. The meteor shower originates in the constellation Leo. It is associated with the comet 55P/Temple-Tuttle, whose orbit includes a meteor stream, which is observable when the Earth passes the comet's orbit. Millions of meteorites touch the Earth's atmosphere and become ignited by the speed of their flight, appearing red, white, orange, green, and other colors. The weights of the meteorites range from a few grains to many pounds. The first documented Leonids' meteor shower was recorded in 902 CE.

Professional and amateur astronomers, as well as the public were prepared to witness the Leonids meteor shower in November 1899, when the Leonids were scheduled to appear between November 7 and 20, with clear skies favoring observation between November 13 and 15. The Harvard College Observatory had long emphasized the analysis of meteors to learn more about the Earth's atmosphere. Observatory directory Edward C. Pickering mailed yearly circulars with blank forms to record the time, color, brilliance, etc., of meteors observed, including the Leonids, at observatories in the United States and Europe.

To secure the best results of the November 1899 Leonids meteor shower, Pickering established a uniform plan of work with maps and forms to record observations of astronomers viewing the meteor shower. A series of stations at various longitudes were solicited to fulfill the conditions necessary to measure the meteor storm or stream. Each observer was asked to complete Pickering's forms, including the name of the observer, location of the station, post office address, time of beginning and end of observation, interruptions by clouds or other causes, and condition of the sky (clear, hazy, passing clouds, etc.). The most desired comments solicited were the frequency of the meteors while the meteor's path was marked on companion maps. In Russia, astronomer Sergey Paylovick Glazenap of the Astronomical Imperial Observatory in Saint Petersburg made a Russian translation of Pickering's circular, printing 1200 copies distributed to members of the Russian Astronomical Society, observers of astronomical stations, newspapers, university students, and other interested persons.

The Leonids were observed in Europe, including in London, France, Austria, and Germany; in India and China; and the United States, including at the naval observatory in Washington, D.C., the Harvard College Observatory, and the Yale and Lick observatories. Telescopes equipped with cameras captured the meteor display at the Harvard College Observatory and in collaboration with the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory in Milton, Massachusetts. It was hoped that if the conditions were favorable, the observations would reveal results of great value to astronomical science. Unfortunately, the meteor shower did not produce as many meteors as expected, and visual observations and photography produced unsatisfactory results. Astronomers conceded that the anticipated spectacle of the meteor shower was a failure. Between November 13 and November 15, 199 meteors were spotted at the Harvard College Observatory, including 71 Leonids. These results contrasted with the Observatory's observation of 800 Leonids in the same period in November 1898. Few sites in Russia experienced clear skies for the whole viewing time, making it difficult for observers to see the Leonids. According to press reports, some areas in Russia experienced panic because of the meteor shower. Due to the widespread belief that the end of the world would bring earthquakes and other natural disasters, churches remained open all night, and hundreds of thousands of people spent their entire nights outside.

Astronomers and the public were both disappointed by the Leonids' meteor shower's failure. Even though Leonids were seen, the display in November 1899 was little compared to the thousands of meteors in 1866 and 1867 or the millions in 1833. As a result, for the next thirty years, meteors lost their appeal to the public. There were several explanations as to why the meteor showers did not occur as predicted, including disturbances caused by Jupiter and Saturn and a change in the comet's orbit which removed it off the Earth's path and rendered the meteor shower invisible. While William H. Pickering, an astronomer at the Harvard College Observatory, hypothesized that the Leonids would finally appear in 1901 and that the period at which they were predicted to come had been incorrectly computed, his brother Edward C. Pickering was unable to explain why the Leonids failed to appear in 1899.