As we discussed earlier in the month, the Leonid meteor shower is tonight, Nov. 16th. To be exact, however, peak viewing will be in the early morning hours of Nov. 17th.
The Leonid meteor shower couldn't have picked a better time for peak viewing. Peaking on the evening of Nov. 16th and the early morning of Nov. 17th, it arrives during November's New Moon.
Peak viewing time for Leonid meteor shower viewers in North America will be between 2 AM and 4 AM. Just as with other meteor showers, such as the Perseids and the Orionids, the Leonids happen when Earth moves through a trail of cometary debris left. For the Leonids, this comet is known as Tempel-Tuttle. It swings through the inner part of the solar system about every 33 years, and last did so in 1998.
Due to the 33 year cycle of Temple-Tuttle, some years the Leonids produce an immense number of meteors. It the parent comet has visited the inner solar system recently, it would leave behind fresh debris. In fact, the Leonid shower of 1833 saw as many as a hundred thousand meteors an hour. This year, a "modest" display is expected.
The Leonids are so named because they seem to radiate from the constellation Leo (the lion). That constellation rises above the NE horizon between 1 AM and 3 AM, depending on your location.
For best viewing, those regions, sky-gazers are advised to venture out away from bright city lights. Between 2 AM and 4 AM on the 17th, you should see as many as 30 to 50 meteors an hour.
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