The Leonids meteor shower
- Next peak
- November 17, 2026, 23:31 UTC
- Active
- about Nov 6 to Nov 30
- ZHR (ideal rate)
- 15 (storms about every 33 years)
- Moon at the 2026 peak
- 55% lit, some moonlight
- Radiant
- Leo
- Speed
- 71 km/s
- Parent body
- comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle
- Best from
- both hemispheres
The Leonids wrote the history of meteor science: the 1833 storm, when meteors fell like snow at over 100,000 per hour, launched the systematic study of showers. Storms recur when parent comet Tempel-Tuttle returns every 33 years; the next promising window comes in the 2030s.
Peak times and moonlight, 2026-2028
Peaks below are computed from the shower's solar longitude, the same way the professional calendars do it, not read off a fixed date. Moonlight makes or breaks a meteor year, so each peak carries its Moon verdict.
| Year | Peak (UTC) | Moon |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | November 17, 2026, 23:31 UTC | Moon 55% lit, some moonlight |
| 2027 | November 18, 2027, 05:45 UTC | Moon 80% lit, badly moonlit |
| 2028 | November 17, 2028, 11:46 UTC | Moon 1% lit, dark skies |
Your best viewing window
Enter a location (or use your device's) and we compute the real watch window for the coming peak night: sky fully dark, Moon out of the way, radiant usefully high. All in your browser; coordinates never leave your device.
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Watching the Leonids
In ordinary years expect modest rates of very fast meteors, many leaving trains. The radiant in Leo's sickle rises around midnight; the last hours before dawn are best.
How to watch any meteor shower
No instrument beats your own eyes: binoculars and telescopes see too little sky. Get away from direct lights, lie back so you can watch a wide stretch of sky about halfway up, and give your eyes a full 20 minutes to adapt (no phone screens; red light if you need it). Meteors appear all over the sky, not just at the radiant, so face whichever direction is darkest for you.
What the ZHR really promises
Every shower is advertised by its ZHR, the zenithal hourly rate, and every year that number disappoints people who take it literally. The ZHR is a standardized laboratory figure: the rate one experienced observer would count under a perfectly dark sky (limiting magnitude 6.5) with the radiant directly overhead. Real skies are brighter, real radiants sit lower, and real eyes miss meteors.
A workable rule: from a genuinely dark rural sky with the radiant high, expect to see about half the ZHR. From a typical suburb, a quarter or less. That said, a single brilliant fireball can outweigh an hour of counting, and the showers on this page all earn their reputations in a dark sky.
Frequently asked questions
When do the Leonids peak in 2026?
The computed peak comes on November 17, 2026 at 23:31 UTC, with the shower active from about Nov 6 to Nov 30. Meteor peaks are broad enough that the nights on either side are usually worth watching too.
How many meteors will I actually see?
The headline ZHR of 15 (storms about every 33 years) is a standardized ideal, not a forecast. Under a truly dark sky with the radiant high, expect roughly half that; from a bright suburb, a quarter or less. Moonlight matters as much as anything: in 2026 the Moon is 55% lit at the peak (some moonlight).
Where should I look to see the Leonids?
Everywhere: meteors streak across the whole sky. The radiant, the point their paths trace back to, lies in Leo, but staring at it shows you the shortest trails. Watch a wide area of dark sky about halfway up, in whatever direction is darkest from your site.
What causes the Leonids?
Debris from comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Each November, Earth crosses the stream of particles this body has shed along its orbit; they hit the atmosphere at 71 kilometers per second and burn up as the streaks we see.
Keep exploring: all 13 major showers ranked for the year ahead, how meteor showers work from first principles, and the Sky Map, which draws every active radiant on tonight's sky.