The fiery Leonid meteor shower peaks this weekend. Here's how to watch.

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Up to 15 "shooting stars" per hour may be visible in dark skies as the Leonid meteor shower peaks Friday and Saturday (Nov. 17 and 18).

A single bright meteor from the Geminid meteor shower of December 2017, dropping toward the horizon in Ursa Major. Gemini itself and the radiant of the shower is at top centre. Leo is just rising at bottom centre. Procyon is at upper right.
Expect about 15 meteors per hour during the peak of the Leonids. (Image credit: Alan Dyer/Stocktrek Images / Getty Images)

The Leonid meteor shower will peak this weekend, bringing about 15 "shooting stars" per hour to the night sky on Friday night and early Saturday (Nov. 17-18). However, this annual meteor shower — named after the constellation Leo, the lion — may offer a bonus show this year, with some experts suggesting a second peak on Sunday (Nov. 19), according to the American Meteor Society.

During the peak of the Leonids, which are known for outbursts of meteor activity, there will be a 23% illuminated waxing crescent moon, which will set soon after sunset on Friday, according to the American Meteor Society. That will leave skies dark, though a clear sky is required to see meteors. It also helps to observe from a location with as little light pollution as possible.

Although this weekend's peak offers the highest frequency of meteors, the Leonids are active from Nov. 3 to Dec. 2.

"Shooting stars" are actually meteoroids, tiny particles that strike Earth's atmosphere, where they heat up and vaporize, releasing energy that's visible as streaks of light in the night sky.

Despite relatively low rates of meteors, the Leonids are classified as a significant meteor shower because it's common to see "fireballs" (very bright meteors) and "Earth-grazers" (which streak close to the horizon) and because they produce an occasional meteor storm. Every 33 years or so, the Leonid meteor shower features at least 1,000 meteors per hour. During the 1966 event, there was a 15-minute period when there were so many visible meteors that they appeared to fall like rain. However, the most recent Leonid meteor storm occurred in 2002, so the next one isn't due until 2035.

Although shooting stars can appear anywhere in the night sky during a meteor shower, it makes sense to look roughly in the direction of the radiant point, the spot from which the meteors appear to originate. In this case, that will be in the constellation Leo, around midnight on the peak night (Friday into Saturday), when Leo will be rising in the east as seen from the Northern Hemisphere.

Jamie Carter
Jamie Carter
Live Science contributor

Jamie Carter is a Cardiff, U.K.-based freelance science journalist and a regular contributor to Live Science. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners and co-author of The Eclipse Effect, and leads international stargazing and eclipse-chasing tours. His work appears regularly in Space.com, Forbes, New Scientist, BBC Sky at Night, Sky & Telescope, and other major science and astronomy publications. He is also the editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com.