Leonid Meteor Shower 2026: How and When to Watch the Year’s Fastest Shooting Stars

One of the year’s most famous meteor showers is under way. The Leonid meteor shower began on 6 November 2026 and will run until the end of the month, with its peak on the night of 17–18 November. If you have a clear, dark sky and a little patience, you could see some of the fastest shooting stars of the year — and this year the Moon will stay out of the way at just the right time.

The Leonids are not the biggest shower of the year. Under a perfect dark sky, skywatchers can expect up to around 15 meteors an hour at the peak. But what they lack in numbers they make up for in drama: Leonid meteors are among the fastest of any shower, and they are known for bright, colourful streaks that sometimes leave glowing trails behind them.

Here is everything you need to know — what the Leonids are, when to look, where to look, and how to give yourself the best chance of seeing them.

What is happening this weekend

The Leonid meteor shower is active from 6 to 30 November 2026. That means the first meteors are already falling this weekend, even though the best night is still more than a week away. The peak — the night when the most meteors are expected — falls on the night of Tuesday 17 November into the early hours of Wednesday 18 November.

The International Meteor Organization predicts a rate of around 15 meteors an hour under ideal conditions, which means a dark sky, far from city lights, with the radiant — the point in the sky the meteors seem to come from — high overhead. In practice, most people will see fewer than that. Fifteen an hour is a theoretical maximum for perfect conditions. From a town or city, with street lights and haze, you might see only a handful. From a truly dark place, you could see one every few minutes.

The nights either side of the peak, 16–17 and 18–19 November, are also worth trying, because the shower does not switch off after the peak night.

The good news for 2026 is the Moon. The Moon reaches its First Quarter phase on 17 November, which means it is a little over half lit, and it sets around midnight. That leaves the sky dark during the best viewing hours, after midnight and before dawn. Moonlight is the biggest enemy of meteor watching after cloud, so a Moon that goes to bed early is a gift.

When and where to look

The short answer is: after midnight, look up, and look anywhere. Meteor showers are best watched between midnight and dawn. That is because after midnight, the side of the Earth you are standing on has turned to face into the direction the planet is moving through space, so it sweeps up more dust. The Leonids are no exception. The best window on the peak night is roughly from midnight until the first light of dawn, around 5 a.m. local time.

The meteors appear to come from the constellation Leo, the Lion, which is why the shower is called the Leonids. Leo rises in the east at around 11 p.m. local time in mid-November and climbs higher through the night. Its brightest star, Regulus, sits near the radiant — the point the meteors seem to stream from. But here is a tip that surprises first-time watchers: do not stare only at Leo. Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. The ones near the radiant look short, while the ones further away leave longer streaks. The best approach is to lie back, relax your eyes, and take in as much of the sky as you can.

The Leonids can be seen from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. In Pakistan, Leo climbs into the eastern sky after midnight, just as it does elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. Your chances are best away from city lights — from a rooftop in a village, a quiet stretch of countryside, or the open landscapes of northern Pakistan, Cholistan or Balochistan. In Karachi, Lahore or Islamabad, street lights and haze will hide the fainter meteors, though the brightest ones can still cut through.

No telescope or binoculars are needed. In fact, they make things worse, because they narrow your view to a tiny patch of sky. Your eyes are the best tool for this job.

What are the Leonids?

A meteor shower happens when the Earth passes through a trail of dust left behind by a comet. As our planet moves through that dust, tiny particles hit the atmosphere at enormous speed and burn up, creating the streaks of light we call shooting stars.

The Leonids come from Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, a short-period comet that takes about 33 years to orbit the Sun. Every time it swings past the Sun, it sheds dust and small stones. That debris spreads out along the comet’s orbit, and every November the Earth ploughs through it. The comet was last at its closest point to the Sun in 1998, and it will return in May 2031.

Most Leonid meteors are caused by dust grains no bigger than a grain of sand. They burn up high in the atmosphere, tens of kilometres above the ground, and never reach the Earth. What you see is not the dust itself falling to the ground, but the light made as it heats the air around it.

The Leonids are famous for their speed. They hit the atmosphere at around 71 kilometres per second — roughly 260,000 kilometres per hour. That makes them the fastest meteors of any major shower. The speed is why they can look so bright and why some of them leave glowing trains, or trails, that hang in the sky for a few seconds after the meteor itself has gone.

They are also known for colour. Because different minerals in the dust burn at different temperatures, Leonid meteors can flash white, yellow, green or even blue. Every now and then, a bigger piece of debris produces a fireball — a meteor bright enough to light up the ground below.

The great Leonid storms of the past

Most years, the Leonids are a modest show. But every 33 years or so, when the Earth passes through a particularly dense patch of dust left by the comet, the shower can turn into a storm — and the Leonids have produced some of the most famous meteor storms in history.

The most famous of all came on the night of 12–13 November 1833. So many meteors fell over North America that witnesses said it looked as if the stars were falling from the sky. People woke in the night, thinking the world was ending. That storm was so powerful that it helped scientists work out what meteor showers actually are — before 1833, many people still believed shooting stars were a kind of weather.

The storm returned in 1966, when observers in the Americas counted tens of thousands of meteors an hour, with some reporting as many as 40 meteors every second at the height of the display. People who saw it still talk about it today as the greatest meteor display of their lives.

The last Leonid storm came in 2002. Since then, the shower has been quiet by comparison, with the usual 10 to 15 meteors an hour in a normal year. No surge in activity is predicted for 2026. But the story is not over. The International Meteor Organization has suggested that a potentially good display could come in 2031, when Comet Tempel-Tuttle returns to the inner Solar System. And while the next true meteor storm is not expected until around 2099, the Leonids remind us every November that the sky can still surprise us.

A bonus in the morning sky

This year’s Leonids come with an extra treat. As the meteors reach their peak, the planets are putting on a show of their own in the same part of the sky.

Mars and Jupiter appear close together in the constellation Leo around 15–16 November, only about 1.2 degrees apart — close enough to fit behind your outstretched thumb. Jupiter shines bright white, while Mars stands out for its reddish colour. Together, they make a useful guide: find the two bright planets, and you have found Leo, and the radiant of the shower.

Then, closer to sunrise on 18 November, Venus and Mercury join them low on the horizon, making a brief parade of four planets in the eastern morning sky. So even if the meteors are quiet on a given night, the peak morning still offers something worth getting up for.

November has more to offer sky watchers beyond the Leonids. The same month brings a full supermoon on 24 November, the first of three supermoons running through January 2027. If you want the full picture of what is up there this month, our guide to November’s night sky covers the supermoon and the Mars–Jupiter meeting in more detail. And if you missed it, Earth also picked up a tiny new companion this year — a small asteroid, 2026 QQ8, that is looping around our planet for a few months.

How to watch the Leonids: a simple plan

You do not need any equipment, any knowledge of astronomy, or any money. You just need a dark sky, a clear night and some patience. Here is how to do it well.

Pick the right night. The peak night is 17–18 November, but the shower is active all month. If the sky is cloudy on the peak night, try the nights before or after. Even this weekend, a few early Leonids are already falling.

Get away from lights. This is the single most important step. Street lights, house lights and city glow wash out all but the brightest meteors. The further you get from town, the more you will see. If you cannot leave the city, find the darkest spot you can — a park, a rooftop away from direct lights, or anywhere with a wide view of the sky.

Check the weather. Cloud is the only thing that can cancel a meteor shower completely. Check your local forecast before you head out, and be ready to wait for a gap in the clouds.

Let your eyes adjust. Your eyes need about 20 to 30 minutes in the dark to reach their full sensitivity. Avoid looking at your phone during that time, because the bright screen will reset your night vision. If you must use your phone, turn the brightness right down or use a red-light setting.

Lie back and look up. A reclining chair, a blanket on the ground, or even the bonnet of a car will do. Dress warmly — November nights are cold, and you will be still for a long time. Bring a blanket, a hot drink, and something to lie on.

Be patient. Meteors come in bursts, with quiet gaps in between. You might see nothing for ten minutes, then three in a minute. Give yourself at least an hour. The later you stay, the better it gets, because the radiant climbs higher and the sky gets darker as the night goes on.

Do not use a telescope. Telescopes and binoculars show you a tiny piece of the sky. Meteors are a wide-sky event, and your eyes take in far more of it.

What happens next

If you miss the Leonids, November still has one more major shower to come. The Geminids, the richest meteor shower of the year, peak on the nights of 13–15 December, and they are usually far more active than the Leonids, with dozens of meteors an hour under a dark sky.

But the Leonids are worth the effort for their own sake. They are the fastest meteors of the year, they have the most dramatic history of any shower, and this year the Moon is kind to watchers. On the night of 17–18 November, step outside after midnight, look up, and wait. The sky may not put on a storm this year — but it only takes one bright Leonid, burning green and gold across the dark, to make the wait worthwhile.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Leonid meteor shower in 2026? The shower is active from 6 to 30 November 2026. It peaks on the night of 17–18 November, with the best viewing between midnight and dawn.

How many meteors will I see? Under ideal dark skies, the International Meteor Organization predicts around 15 meteors an hour at the peak. In practice, most people see fewer — perhaps a handful an hour from a town, and one every few minutes from a dark site.

Do I need a telescope to see the Leonids? No. The Leonids are best seen with the naked eye. A telescope narrows your view too much. Just find a dark place, lie back, and look up.

What causes the Leonid meteor shower? Dust left behind by Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Every November, the Earth passes through the comet’s debris trail, and the dust burns up in our atmosphere as meteors.

Why are the Leonids so fast? They enter the atmosphere at around 71 kilometres per second — about 260,000 kilometres per hour — making them the fastest meteors of any major shower. Their speed is why they often look bright and leave glowing trails.

Will there be a Leonid meteor storm in 2026? No. No surge in activity is predicted for this year. The great Leonid storms of 1833, 1966 and 2002 happened when the Earth passed through dense patches of comet dust. The next potentially good display is expected around 2031, when the comet returns.

Can I see the Leonids from Pakistan? Yes. The Leonids are visible from both hemispheres. In Pakistan, the constellation Leo rises in the east after midnight, and the best views come from dark skies away from city lights.

Conclusion

The Leonid meteor shower of 2026 is not going to be a storm. There will be no thousands of meteors an hour, no sky on fire. But that is not really the point. The Leonids are a reminder that the Earth is moving through space, sweeping up the dust of a comet that last visited the Sun in 1998 and will return in 2031.

This year, the conditions are kind: the shower is active now, the peak falls on the night of 17–18 November, and the Moon sets around midnight, leaving the sky dark when it matters most. Add in a close meeting of Mars and Jupiter, and a four-planet parade at dawn, and the peak morning is one of the best skywatching nights of the year.

So mark the date, check the forecast, find somewhere dark, and look up. A meteor shower asks for nothing but your time — and on a clear November night, it pays you back in shooting stars.

Sources

• BBC News, “One of the year’s most prolific meteor showers to light up the night sky this weekend” (7 November 2026)
• timeanddate.com, “Leonid Meteor Shower 2026 — When, Where, and How to See It” (6 November 2026): https://www.timeanddate.com/news/astronomy/leonid-meteor-shower-2026
• Farmers’ Almanac, “Leonid Meteor Shower 2026: Peak Date & Viewing Tips”: https://www.farmersalmanac.com/when-leonid-meteor-shower
• BBC Sky at Night Magazine, “Leonid meteor shower 2026: when and how to see it”: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/leonid-meteor-shower-when-how-see
• NASA, “What’s Up: November 2026 Skywatching Guide” (via JNP Travel summary): https://jnptravel.com/blog/nasa-november-2026-skywatching-guide-meteors-planets-supermoon

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.