Leonids

When are the Leonids?

The Leonids are active from about 6 Nov to 27 Nov each year and peak around 17 Nov. Rates vary from year to year, so SkyMate doesn’t quote a peak rate for this shower. For local times, the Moon and the best hours from your place, open the page for the year.

• Leonids 2026Active 6–27 NovPeak ~17 Nov
• Leonids 2027Active 6–27 NovPeak ~17 Nov

How to watch

The radiant rises around midnight, so the best viewing is from about 1 a.m. until dawn. Rates vary from year to year, and in most years the Leonids are a modest shower; check back each year rather than relying on old storm reports.

Get as far from streetlights as you can and give your eyes at least 20 minutes to adjust to the dark. Every glance at a bright phone screen resets that, so keep it away or use a red night mode.

Lie back on a reclining chair or a mat and take in as much sky as possible, looking about halfway up rather than straight at the radiant. Meteors can appear anywhere; the ones far from the radiant have longer trails.

You need no equipment. Binoculars and telescopes show only a tiny patch of sky, so they make you miss meteors. Dress warmly, even in summer, and plan to watch for at least an hour: meteors come in clumps and lulls.

Where do they come from?

The Leonids are dust from Comet 55P/Tempel–Tuttle, which returns every 33 years. Around its returns, Earth can hit dense, young dust trails: the storms of 1833 and 1966 produced thousands of meteors an hour, and 1999–2002 brought strong displays.

The fastest meteors of any major shower, at about 70 km/s, often with trains.