Get Ready for Today’s Leonid Meteor Shower — Here’s the Best Time to Watch

The Leonid meteor shower is peaking earlier than expected. Sky-gazers anticipating a celestial display will soon be rewarded. According to EarthSky, the meteor shower will reach its peak on Monday, November 17, at 1 p.m. ET. The glimpses of the stunning display were visible at 11 p.m. local time on Sunday, November 16, and will eventually grow brighter. Those who are interested in catching the meteor shower can get the best view at 4 a.m. Robert Lunsford, fireball report coordinator for the American Meteor Society, explained why viewing at a particular time is especially important for a Leonid meteor. “Unlike a lot of (meteor) showers, the Leonids have a very sharp peak,” he said, as per CNN.

Therefore, there is only one good night to get the best views of the celestial display. If weather conditions permit, you can see up to 10 to 15 meteors per hour. This meteor was formed from the debris that 55P/Tempel-Tuttle left behind. While orbiting, this non-interstellar comet leaves behind a trail of debris that Earth passes through each year. The Leonid meteor shower is one of the most famous showers and is responsible for one of the greatest meteor storms: the 1966 storm. It went on for 15 minutes straight, and people gazed at the sky as meteors fell like rain. "Leonid meteor storms sometimes recur in cycles of 33 to 34 years. But the Leonids around the turn of the millennium – while wonderful for many observers – did not match the shower of 1966," as per EarthSky. "And, in most years, the Lion whimpers rather than roars," it added.

“We passed right through the center of one of the Leonid streams and rates were estimated at 40 meteors per second,” Lunsford said about the historic meteor shower. The last Leonid meteor shower was recorded in 2002, as per NASA. The meteor is visible from Earth only when the planet crosses the debris trail of its parent comet. Lunsford believes that the next shower that will coincide with the comet’s orbital cycle will take place in 2033. “We may see rates of around 100 an hour, which is comparable to the Geminids,” he said. "But we certainly don’t expect any storms that are 1,000 meters an hour," the researcher added.

Geminids are another meteor shower that is expected to occur somewhere between December 4–17. The meteor is expected to reach its peak between December 13–14. Ursids are next in line. It will remain active from December 17–26, and the peak is expected between December 21–22, as per the American Meteor Society. Geminids are typically the strongest meteor shower of the year. On the other hand, Ursids are often overlooked because they peak right before Christmas, and the frequency of occurrence is very low.