Leonid Meteor Shower 2015 Lights Up Night Skies This Week!

First Posted: Nov 16, 2015 07:59 AM EST

Want to see a spectacular show this week? Then make sure to look up. The Leonid meteor shower is peaking this week, though you should have the chance of seeing "shooting stars" all week long.

November's Leonid meteor shower occurs every year around this time. This is because Earth is moving across the orbital path of Comet Tempel-Tuttle. As it does, Earth's atmosphere encounters debris from the comet, which appears to streak across the sky as it burns up in the atmosphere.

The Leonids meteor shower is already underway, however. It peaks Tuesday night into Wednesday morning from Nov. 17 to Nov. 18. In fact, about 20 meteors per hour are expected through the peak, which makes it more active than the recent Taurid meteor shower.

The top times to see the shower will be around 11 p.m. on Nov. 17 toward dawn on Nov. 18. Leonid is actually the fastest meteor shower that we encounter on Earth. In fact, the pieces of debris that create the shower hit our atmosphere at around 158,000 mph.

Because the moon will only be at first quarter, there should be great viewing conditions. However, this is assuming that the nights won't be cloudy. Either way, make sure to take a peek outside in order to catch this stunning sky show before it's gone for the year.

Watch Three Planets and the Moon Align This Weekend during a Meteor Shower

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TagsMeteor, Leonid Meteor Shower's, Stars, Shooting stars, star, space