The fastest annual meteors — and the source of historic meteor storms.
Peak rate
~15 meteors/hr at peak
Active
6 Nov – 30 Nov
Radiant
Leo
Speed
71 km/s
Parent body
Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle
Moon at peak
Peak-night moon 50% lit — moderate moonlight
The Leonids are the fastest of the annual showers, striking the atmosphere at 71 km/s and producing brief, brilliant streaks. Most years bring a modest ~15 an hour, but the Leonids are legendary for the meteor storms they unleash roughly every 33 years, when Earth meets a dense filament of comet debris — the 1833 and 1966 storms rained thousands of meteors an hour.
Meteors radiate from the Sickle of Leo, which rises after midnight.