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According to experts from the Royal Museums Greenwich, the annual Leonid meteor shower will peak overnight November 16-17.
The best time to see meteors is between midnight and sunrise.
The Leonids are famous for their spectacular “meteor storms” which see thousands of meteors glistening in the sky, caused by the debris of the comet Tempel-Tuttle.
But this year it will be a more subdued display.
You will be able to see meteors even on the night of the 17th, like comet particles raining down into our atmosphere.
This year will be a fairly civilized affair, with just 15 per hour, as Earth moves through the stream of debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle.
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Royal Museums Greenwich writes in a blog post: “As the comet follows its path around the sun, it leaves a path of tiny debris.
“Comet debris enters our planet’s atmosphere at speeds of up to 70 kilometers (43 miles) per second, vaporizing and causing the streaks of light we call meteors.”
The Leonids appear to come from the constellation of Leo, hence the name.
To see them, choose an observation point with very light light pollution and wait 20 minutes for your eyes to get used to the darkness.
Bill Cooke of NASA said in a Leonid Observation Guide: “Get out, find a dark sky, lie on your back and look up, and get ready to spend a couple of hours outside.”
Leonid meteor shower views are best when Comet Tempel-Tuttle is closest to Earth.
In 2009, the shower delivered 500 shooting stars every hour, and the next intense shower is expected in 13 years.
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NASA says, “Every 33 years or so, the Leonid meteor shower becomes a meteor storm. A meteor storm, compared to a rain, is defined as having at least 1,000 meteors per hour.
Viewers in 1966 experienced a spectacular Leonid storm: thousands of meteors per minute fell into Earth’s atmosphere over a period of 15 minutes. There were so many meteors seen that they seemed to be falling like rain. The last Leonid meteor storm took place in 2002.
Watch: the Leonid meteor shower will light up the night sky
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