Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks November 17, 2025

Stargazers around the world have an opportunity to witness the annual Leonid meteor shower, which reaches its peak in the early morning hours of November 17, 2025, as Earth passes through streams of cosmic debris left by Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.

The shower, active from November 3 through December 2, will be visible primarily after midnight until dawn on November 17, with potential activity extending into the morning of November 18. Under ideal conditions—a dark, moonless sky away from city lights—observers may see 10 to 15 meteors per hour. This year's viewing benefits from a waning crescent moon, which rises late and illuminates only about 9 percent of the sky, minimizing interference during prime hours. The meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Leo in the eastern sky, but they streak across all parts of the night sky, often producing bright flashes known as fireballs due to their high speed of about 44 miles per second.

The Leonids originate from particles shed by Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 33 years and last approached the inner solar system in 1998. As the comet nears the sun, it releases icy debris that forms a trail Earth intersects each...