Leonid Meteor Shower To Peak This Weekend

Sky watchers may want to mark their calendars for the peak of the Leonid meteor shower late night November 16 to dawn November 17th. The event is so named because meteors appear to stream from the constellation Leo the Lion, according to space.com.

A meteor shower occurs when Earth travels through specks of debris which hit our atmosphere and disintegrate in flashes of light, also known as shooting stars. The "parent" comet for the Leonid meteor shower is the Comet Tempel-Tuttle.

The Leonid meteor shower can best be viewed with dark, clear skies, away from city lights. Space.com also recommends watching for the meteors with just the naked eye - no binoculars or telescopes.

The News On 6 weather team expects skies to be mostly clear Saturday night.

At its peak, the meteor count is expected to be about 15 per hour.  The before dawn hours of Tuesday, November 20 are also recommended for trying to view the Leonid meteor shower.

Read more about watching for the Leonid meteor shower.