| Leonids Meteor Shower November 17, 2024 ⬅︎ |
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The Speedballs
The Leonids is a major shower that is very inconsistent. Most years the rate is a like a trickle — a low 10 meteors per hour — while some years the rate can seem to explode to over 1,000. When this happens, the event is called a meteor storm. The last storm occurred in 2002. While the estimate for the next one isn’t until 2099, there’s still a chance in any year. Perhaps this year?
Leonid meteors are the fastest of any shower which means they tend to be bright, produce lots of trains (smoky trails) and fireballs (brilliant meteors that can break up and sometimes explode).
The Leonids are active from November 6 to 20 and typically peak around November 16. See below for this year’s peak. If you are familiar with the constellation Leo, then the radiant will be easy to find — it is in the Sickle or head of the lion.
The meteors are from the debris left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle. This comet orbits the Sun every 33 years and is expected to return in 2031. It tends to have pieces of rock and metal that are larger than usual which explains the fireballs.
| Dates |
Rate |
Speed |
Radiant |
Parent |
2024 Peak |
| Nov 6-20 |
10 |
44 mi/s |
Leo |
Comet Tempel-Tuttle |
Nov 17/18 |
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| Viewing Leonids Meteor Shower | | Level | Moderate | Rating |  | Best Viewing | Night of November 17/18 | | Find | To find the radiant, look E for Leo. Find Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, and then the asterism known as the Sickle above it. This also marks the head of the lion. The radiant is within. In the Starry Hill region, the radiant rises in the eastern sky about 11 PM and rises throughout the night.
|  | In general with meteor showers, the best viewing begins after midnight and improves each hour until just before dawn.
|  | For 2024, some bad news is that a very bright Waning Gibbous Moon will be rising at around 5:40 PM and will make viewing any but the brightest of meteors very difficult. It won't be setting until around 10 AM the next morning. |
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| More info: All about Shooting Stars, Meteors and Meteor Showers
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