The Leonid meteor shower is active from 6 to 30 November 2026, but the peak night is 16–17 November, with some calendars giving 17–18 November depending on your time zone. The predicted maximum falls late on 17 November, and the best viewing window runs from after midnight until dawn, when the constellation Leo — the shower's radiant — climbs high in the eastern sky. Under dark skies, expect roughly 10 to 15 meteors per hour at the peak, not the hundreds per hour of a famous storm year.

This is a normal Leonid year, and that matters for expectations. The shower produced storms of tens of thousands per hour in 1966 and outbursts of thousands per hour in 1999–2002, but 2026 is forecast as modest. What the Leonids lack in numbers they make up for in quality: their meteors are among the fastest of any annual shower, striking the atmosphere at about 70 kilometres per second, so many are bright and leave glowing persistent trains.

Moonlight is the usual enemy of meteor watching, but the 2026 Leonids get a helpful break. The Moon reaches first quarter on 17 November and sets around midnight in many locations, leaving the prime pre-dawn hours dark. In practical terms, that means you should plan to start after moonset rather than at 10 pm, when the Moon is still up and the radiant is still low.

If you can only watch on one night, choose the morning of 17 or 18 November, and aim for the hours between 3 am and dawn if you can manage it. Leo will be high, the sky will be at its darkest, and any Leonid that crosses your view will stand out clearly. Even a single bright fireball with a lingering train is a memorable sight, and Leonids are famous for producing them even in quiet years.

Meteors appear to radiate from Leo, near the Sickle asterism and the bright star Regulus, but they can streak across any part of the sky. The common beginner mistake is staring fixedly at Leo itself. Instead, lie back and watch a broad sweep of sky, ideally with Leo off to one side of your view. A reclining chair or a ground mat makes this comfortable; standing with your head tipped back becomes painful within minutes.

Face east or north-east if you want Leo in view, but do not worry about exact direction. The radiant is a point of origin, not a target. Meteors far from the radiant often show longer trails because you see them side-on, while those near the radiant look shorter and faster. Give the session at least an hour: meteor rates come in lulls and bursts, and a quiet twenty minutes can be followed by three meteors in two minutes.

November nights are cold, and lying still makes them feel colder. Dress in warm layers, bring a blanket, a sleeping bag if you have one, and a hot drink in a flask. A red torch preserves your night vision; white phone screens destroy it instantly, so dim your phone or leave it in your pocket. Allow 20 to 30 minutes for your eyes to adapt fully to the dark, and avoid looking at streetlights or car headlights during that time.

No telescope or binoculars are needed — in fact, they hurt meteor watching because their narrow field of view hides most of the sky. Your naked eyes, a dark location away from streetlights, and patience are the whole kit. Check the cloud forecast before you go out, and have a backup night: the nights of 16, 17 and 18 November are all worth trying if the peak night clouds over.

The Leonids are debris from Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which leaves a trail of dust along its orbit. Every November, Earth passes through that trail, and tiny grains — often no bigger than sand — burn up about 100 kilometres overhead. Because Earth meets the stream almost head-on, the grains arrive at exceptional speed, which is why Leonid meteors look so quick and thin compared with the slower, chunkier Taurids earlier in November.

That speed also explains their bright trains: the grains heat the air so intensely that the glowing trail can linger for seconds after the meteor itself has gone. Watching the Leonids is therefore watching a comet's ancient dust, shed centuries ago, ending its journey in a flash above your head. It costs nothing, needs no gear, and rewards the simple discipline of staying out long enough.