Leonid Meteor Shower 2026: Peak Nov 17–18, Viewing Guide & History
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Leonid meteor shower streaking across the autumn night sky from Comet Tempel-Tuttle debris

Meteor Shower Guide · November 2026

Leonid Meteor Shower 2026: Peak Nov 17–18, Full Viewing Guide

The Leonids are history’s most storied meteor shower — the 1833 storm rained 100,000 meteors per hour over North America. In 2026 they peak quietly at 10–15 per hour, but the fast, bright fireballs and the chance of enhanced activity make them unmissable. Here is everything you need to know.

10–15

Meteors per hour (typical)

Nov 17–18

2026 peak nights

71 km/s

Fastest major shower

1833

Year of the great Leonid storm

By Telescope Advisor Editorial Team Published: Updated: Editorial Standards

Leonid 2026 Key Facts at a Glance

📅

Peak nights

November 17–18, 2026. Active from ~Nov 6 through Nov 30. Peak is a pre-dawn event.

🌠

Normal ZHR

10–15 meteors per hour in typical years. Storm years (rare) can reach 1,000+/hr.

⚡

Speed

71 km/s — the fastest of all major meteor showers. Produces brilliant fireballs and long persistent trains.

☄️

Parent body

Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which orbits the Sun every ~33 years. Last perihelion: 1998. Next: 2031.

📍

Radiant point

Constellation Leo, near the star Algieba (γ Leonis). Leo rises after midnight in November.

🌙

Moon phase 2026

Waxing gibbous moon (~75% lit) in November — sets in the early morning hours before dawn peak.

The Leonid Storm History: 1833, 1966, 2001

No meteor shower has a more dramatic history than the Leonids. In most years they are a modest display at 10–15 meteors per hour. But roughly every 33 years — timed to the orbit of their parent comet — the Leonids become a storm. The difference between a normal Leonid year and a storm year is measured not in meteors per hour but in meteors per second.

1833

The Night the Stars Fell

On the night of November 12–13, 1833, residents across eastern North America witnessed a meteor storm that many described as the sky “raining fire.” Estimates vary from 100,000 to 240,000 meteors per hour at peak. Church bells rang, people fled their homes believing it was the end of the world. Astronomer Denison Olmsted was among those who correctly concluded these were meteors entering the atmosphere, and his observations led to the first scientific understanding of meteor showers as a phenomenon.

1966

40–50 Meteors Per Second

The 1966 Leonid storm is the most intense meteor shower of the 20th century. Observers in the American Southwest reported rates of 40–50 meteors per second — approximately 144,000 per hour — for a brief 40-minute peak window around 4am MST. Those who saw it described individual meteors as indistinguishable: a continuous luminous rain that washed out the background sky entirely. The storm was missed by most of the world because the peak occurred before dawn for Europe and Asia.

2001

The Last Major Storm: 3,000/hr

The 2001 Leonids produced an outburst of approximately 3,000 meteors per hour — not a full storm but a spectacular display visible from Europe and Asia on November 18. Unlike 1833 and 1966, this event was predicted in advance by meteor scientists and widely observed. Comet Tempel-Tuttle had last passed perihelion in 1998, leaving a fresh debris trail that Earth crossed. The next perihelion is 2031: the Leonid storms of the 2030s are anticipated.

What about 2026? Comet Tempel-Tuttle’s next perihelion is 2031. In 2026, Earth will not cross a dense debris filament, so no storm is predicted. A normal Leonid year produces 10–15 meteors per hour — fewer than most showers, but the Leonid fireballs are exceptionally fast and brilliant, with glowing trains that can persist for 10–30 seconds. Watching the Leonids is watching meteors that enter the atmosphere at 71 km/s — the fastest speed of any major shower.

2026 Leonid Peak: Timing, Moon Phase, and Viewing Windows

Peak: November 17–18, 2026

The Leonid peak in 2026 falls on the night of November 17–18. The shower is active from approximately November 6 through November 30, but peak rates are concentrated within a few hours either side of the maximum. The radiant — the point in Leo from which meteors appear to originate — does not rise above the horizon until after midnight, making the Leonids an exclusively pre-dawn shower in terms of best rates.

Moon phase: challenging but workable

In 2026, the moon around the Leonid peak will be a waxing gibbous, approximately 75% illuminated. This is not ideal: a bright gibbous moon rises before midnight and sets in the early morning hours before dawn, washing out fainter meteors during the early viewing window. However, the best Leonid activity occurs in the 2–4am window when Leo is highest — and the moon will be low in the west by then, significantly less disruptive. Observers with dark southern or western horizons can minimise the moonlight impact.

Under moonlit conditions, expect to see 8–12 Leonids per hour during peak — fewer than ideal dark-sky rates, but the brilliant fireballs will still be fully visible. The slowdown affects the faintest meteors most; the signature Leonid fireballs will punch through the background glow.

Leonid 2026 viewing windows (approximate local time, Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes)
Time window Activity Conditions 2026
10pm – Midnight Low (~3–5/hr) Leo below horizon. Radiant not yet up. Not productive.
Midnight – 2am Moderate (~8–10/hr) Leo rising. Gibbous moon bright in sky. Some moonlight interference.
2am – 4am ★ Peak (~10–15/hr) Leo highest. Moon low in west, less disruptive. Best window.
4am – Dawn Good (~8–12/hr) Rates holding. Moon near setting. Worth watching through twilight.

★ = best window. Rates are estimates for 2026 with gibbous moon interference factored in.

How to Watch the Leonids: The Practical Guide

1. Go out after 2am for best rates

The Leonid radiant in Leo rises after midnight and reaches a useful height by around 2am. Before midnight, almost no Leonids will be visible as the radiant is still below the horizon. Plan to be outside from 2am to astronomical twilight (approximately 5:30–6am).

2. Face east or southeast, not north

Leo rises in the east. Facing east gives you the best view of the radiant rising, and allows meteors to appear across as much of your sky as possible. Keep the moon — which will be in the southwest to west — behind you or out of your direct line of sight to preserve your dark adaptation.

3. Watch for persistent trains

The Leonids’ defining characteristic is the persistent glowing train left after a fireball. These trains can last 5–30 seconds and visibly drift in upper-atmosphere winds as you watch. They are unlike any other shower’s afterglow. Once you have seen a Leonid fireball train, you will understand why observers travel to see this shower even in off-years.

4. Dress for November cold

November nights are cold — colder still because you will be lying still outdoors for hours at 2–4am. Thermal underlayer, fleece, outer windproof layer, thick socks, gloves, and a hat. A sleeping bag or large blanket over a reclining chair is the most comfortable setup. Warm drinks in a thermos.

5. Watch with naked eyes and wide-field vision

Meteors are naked-eye events. Do not try to track them with binoculars or telescope — they move far too fast. Look at a wide section of sky, ideally with your peripheral vision centred about 40–50 degrees from the radiant, where meteors appear to have their longest, most dramatic paths.

6. Use a star-tracking app

Identifying Leo’s distinctive backward question-mark asterism (the Sickle) helps you orient toward the radiant. Apps like SkySafari or Stellarium show the radiant altitude throughout the night. At 2am in mid-November from the US, Leo will be 20–30 degrees above the eastern horizon — well placed for viewing.

Equipment for Leonid Night

The Leonids are a naked-eye shower — no optical equipment required. But binoculars make brilliant fireball afterglow trails dramatically more visible, and a telescope can explore Leo’s rich galaxy field between meteor bursts. The Leo cluster hosts many nearby galaxies including M65, M66, and M96, all visible in a 130mm scope.

Binoculars — Fireball Afterglows

After a Leonid fireball, quickly point binoculars at where the train is glowing. You will see the train in vivid detail — the ionised wake drifting in upper atmosphere winds, sometimes forming knots and kinks. Wide-field 10×50 binoculars are ideal: enough magnification to see detail, enough field of view to find the train quickly. A quality pair like the Celestron Nature DX 10×50 is an excellent all-round astronomy binocular for November meteor nights.

View Celestron Nature DX 10×50 →
Upgrade Pick — Leo Galaxies

Telescope — Explore the Leo Galaxy Group

While watching for Leonid meteors, the Leo galaxy group — M65, M66, M95, M96, M105 — hangs directly in front of the radiant. A 130–150mm telescope will show all five in the same region of sky. This makes a Leonid night one of the year’s best combinations of naked-eye meteor watching and telescopic galaxy exploration. See our beginner telescope guide for recommendations at every budget.

View Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P →
Leo deep-sky targets on Leonid night: M65 and M66 (Leo Triplet pair, ~35 million light-years), M95 and M96 (barred spiral and elliptical, ~38 million light-years), M105 (elliptical galaxy), and NGC 3628 (edge-on spiral that completes the Leo Triplet). In a 130mm or larger scope at 60–100×, all three Leo Triplet members fit in the same low-power field.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do the Leonids peak in 2026?

The Leonid meteor shower peaks on the night of November 17–18, 2026. The best viewing window is between 2am and 4am local time on November 18, when the radiant in Leo is near its highest point in the sky. The shower is active from approximately November 6 through November 30.

How many meteors will I see during the 2026 Leonids?

In 2026, the Leonids are not predicted to produce a storm. Under dark skies on the peak night, expect 10–15 meteors per hour during the 2–4am window. The gibbous moon in 2026 will reduce this to approximately 8–12 visible per hour for most observers. While modest in numbers, Leonid meteors are exceptionally fast and bright, with persistent glowing trains making each individual fireball memorable.

Is another Leonid storm coming?

Possibly. Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle — the Leonids’ parent body — next reaches perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) in 2031. Historical Leonid storms have occurred around comet perihelion years (1833, 1866, 1966, outburst in 2001). Meteor scientists will refine predictions as 2031 approaches. The years 2031–2035 are the window to watch. In 2026, no storm is expected.

What makes the Leonids special compared to other showers?

The Leonids are the fastest major meteor shower at 71 km/s — nearly twice as fast as Perseids (60 km/s) and twice as fast as Geminids (35 km/s). This speed produces vivid fireballs that often leave glowing “trains” — ionised trails that persist for 5–30 seconds and visibly drift in upper atmosphere winds. Even in low-rate years, a single Leonid fireball with a 20-second glowing train is more spectacular than dozens of faint streaks from other showers.

How do I start stargazing for the first time on Leonid night?

For beginners, the Leonid pre-dawn hours are a great introduction to the night sky. While waiting for meteors, you can use a free app (SkySafari, Stellarium) to identify Leo, find Jupiter if it is visible, and learn the Winter constellations rising in the east. If you want to do more than naked-eye observing, a pair of binoculars or a beginner telescope can turn a two-hour meteor watch into a full introduction to astronomy. See our how to start stargazing guide for the essentials.

Published May 17, 2026, by the Telescope Advisor Editorial Team. Viewing times are approximate for Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes. Some links are affiliate links: we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure.