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Look up: Leonid meteor shower peaks this weekend

NASA

<p>This Bright Leonid Fireball Is Shown During The Storm Of 1966 In The Sky Above Wrightwood, Calif. The Leonids Occur Every Year On Or About Nov. 18Th And Stargazers Are Tempted With A Drizzle Of 10 Or 20 Meteors Fizzing Across The Horizon Every Hour. But Every 33 Years A Rare And Dazzling Leonids Storm Can Occur But, Astronomers Believe The 1999 Edition Of The Leonids Probably Won'T Equal 1966, Which Peaked At 144,000 Meteors Per Hour. (Courtesy Of (Photo By Nasa/Getty Images)</p>

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DENVER – Skywatchers, take note: The Leonid meteor shower will peak this week.

The annual meteor shower will reach its peak at night on Friday, Nov. 17 and early the next morning, according to Space.com.

The Leonids get their name from the constellation Leo, which is where the shooting stars often appear to come from. You should be able to see them throughout the night sky, however.

According to EarthSky, the Leonid meteor shower typically produces 10 to 15 meteors per hour.

Conditions should be good for viewing the meteor shower, assuming you can find a good, dark spot without any cloud cover – this year’s Leonids coincide with the new moon, so you won’t have to worry about the lunar glow blocking out any shooting stars.

If you can’t make it out Friday night or Saturday morning, don’t worry. Though the meteor shower peaks during that time frame, meteors should be visible for a few days before and after the peak, just not as frequently.

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Look up: Leonid meteor shower peaks this weekend

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