The Leonid meteor shower is active through the end of November, offering sky watchers a chance to catch a modest but reliably fast display before its peak on the night of November 17, according to BBC Weather.
The shower is produced by debris shed from Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle as it loops around the Sun. Observers can expect to see roughly 10 to 15 meteors per hour under clear, dark skies — a modest rate compared with August's Perseids, but the Leonids make up for it with speed: the particles enter Earth's atmosphere at up to 44 miles (71km) per second, among the fastest meteors visible from the ground, burning up as streaks of light rather than slower, longer-lived trails.
Viewing conditions around the November 17 peak look favorable this year. The Moon will sit below the horizon around midnight, meaning its glow is less likely to wash out the fainter meteors. NASA's Leonids guide notes that the shower's radiant — the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to originate — sits near the head of the constellation Leo, making that part of the sky the best place to focus a gaze, though meteors can streak across any part of the sky.
No equipment is required. Meteors are visible to the naked eye, and astronomers advise finding a wide-open, dark location away from streetlights and giving the eyes 20 to 30 minutes to adjust before watching begins.
The Leonids have a history of producing far more dramatic displays: roughly every 33 years, when Earth passes through a denser part of the comet's debris trail, the shower can intensify into a true meteor storm with rates reaching into the thousands per hour, as it did in 1999 and 2001. This year's display is expected to be a routine one, well short of storm levels — meaning a clear night is the main prerequisite for a good show.