Leonid meteor shower is due to peak today, but the best is yet to come

The Leonids meteor shower are visible annually throughout most of November, with 2014 onward having some visibility between the 6th and 30th of November each year.

Since 2016, the peak has occurred on November 17th. However, in recent years, the number of meteors visible at the peak of the Leonids is estimated between 10-15 per hour by a single observer under ideal conditions. This year's relatively poor turnout is due partly to the approaching full moon, which is due on November 19th, lighting up the night sky and obscuring the shower.

The Leonids result from the debris left by the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which completes an orbit of the Sun every 33 years. The comet's orbital path intersects that of the Earth around the Sun, and each year as the Earth passes through the intersection point, meteors left over from the comet are visible in the shower.

The last time this 33 year period elapsed was 1998, resulting in spectacular meteor showers that year and the few following. Until the next passage of the comet through the intersection point, the quality of meteor showers is expected to drop off. For every year up to the end of the century, predictions have been made for the number of meteors visible per hour.

2022 is predicted to have between 250-300 meteors visible per hour, in stark contrast to the less than 10 to at most 50 expected for every year until 2033, when 300-400 are predicted to be visible per hour following a recent passing of Tempel-Tuttle. Mark November 17th in your calendar for next year, as it will likely offer the best of the Leonids to come for the next decade.