This year's display of Leonid meteors peaks on November 17th, but they'll be largely washed out thanks to strong interference from the Moon.

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Leonid meteor shower in 2012</em srcset=

The direction to watch is wherever your sky is darkest, and it will certainly help to pick a spot where the Moon is blocked from your view by a building or tree.

Notice the meteors' flight paths; only those streaking away from the direction to the constellation Leo are Leonids. They're incredibly fast-movers as meteors go, striking Earth's atmosphere at 71 km per second (160,000 mph). Sometimes they create dazzling fireballs with an afterglow (technically known as a train) that can linger as a ghostly thread in the sky for up to a minute.

For more information, read our article Basics of Meteor Observing. And you can also download S&T's free eBook on meteor observing.

About J. Kelly Beatty

J. Kelly Beatty, S&T Senior Editor, joined the staff of Sky Publishing in 1974 and specializes in planetary science and space exploration. Learn more about him here.

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