Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Overnight Nov. 17–18 With Favorable Moon Conditions

Overview

• Astronomers advise watching late on Nov. 17 and especially in the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 18, when the radiant in Leo climbs high.
• Under dark skies, observers can expect roughly 10 meteors per hour, though counts vary by location and sky quality.
• 2025 brings a dimmer moon during the peak, yet forecasters warn that clouds are likely in parts of central Germany with only limited breaks in Saxony-Anhalt.
• The streaks come from tiny particles shed by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle striking the atmosphere at up to about 72 km/s.
• The shower is active Nov. 6–30 in 2025, and rare storm-level outbursts linked to the comet’s 33-year cycle are suggested by experts to be more likely around 2031.