The Leonid meteor shower is active now, and skywatchers have a date to circle: the shower peaks overnight from 17 to 18 November 2026, when fast, bright meteors will streak across a dark sky.
NASA’s November 2026 skywatching guide lists the Leonids as one of the month’s headline events. The shower is active from 6 to 30 November, according to the Farmers’ Almanac, so meteors are already possible on clear nights, with numbers building toward the peak.
When and where to look
The Leonids peak on the night of Tuesday 17 November into the early hours of Wednesday 18 November. The best viewing window is after midnight through to about 5.30 a.m. local time, once the first-quarter Moon has set and the radiant in the constellation Leo has climbed high in the eastern sky.
Under ideal dark skies, the shower can produce up to around 15 meteors per hour, NASA says. The Farmers’ Almanac gives the same range of 10 to 15 per hour. That is a modest rate compared with the great showers, but Leonids are famous for being swift and bright, often leaving glowing trains behind them.
A comet’s dusty trail
The Leonids come from debris left by Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Every November, Earth passes through the trail of dust the comet shed more than four centuries ago, and the tiny particles burn up as they hit the atmosphere at about 70 kilometres per second, among the fastest of any meteor shower.
No special equipment is needed. NASA advises finding a dark spot away from street lights, lying back, and letting your eyes adjust for at least 20 minutes. The meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, so the best approach is to look up and be patient rather than staring only at Leo.
A month of sky shows
November 2026 is unusually rich for skywatchers. The Northern Taurids peak around 11 to 12 November, Mars and Jupiter draw close together before dawn on 15 to 16 November, and a full supermoon lights the sky on 24 November. The Leonids sit in the middle of that run, and the dark Moon after midnight on peak night gives them a clear stage.
Sources: NASA JPL “What’s Up: November 2026” (via JNP Travel summary); Farmers’ Almanac Leonid Meteor Shower 2026; BBC Sky at Night Magazine, 4-5 Nov 2026.
