Leonid Meteor Shower Arriving This Weekend

A prime time for night owls is coming up as the Leonid meteor shower makes its annual appearance this weekend.

The peak viewing for the Leonids will be on Friday and Saturday nights. According to some sources, a secondary peak will occur on Monday night.

Meteor-watchers this year won’t be hampered by the moon which will set long before prime viewing time.

The Leonids are named for the constellation Leo the Lion, from which the meteors seem to emanate. According to the Bishop Planetarium in Honolulu, the constellation is currently rising at around 12:45 a.m.

The meteor shower is associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865. The Leonids are tiny bits of debris shed by the comet which have slowly spread along its orbit, which the Earth encounters every year in mid-November.

Astronomers say viewers can expect between 10 and 15 meteors per hour during the shower’s peak periods.