Leonid meteor shower 2026
The Leonid meteor shower peaks on November 17, 2026. The IMO puts the maximum at 23:45 UT that day, and the shower runs from November 6 to 30. Expect up to about 15 meteors an hour from a dark site. In the US the peak falls on the evening of November 17, so watch in the dark hours of the mornings of November 17 and 18.
Sources: IMO 2026 Meteor Shower Calendar (Rendtel, IMO INFO(3-25)) and the AMS meteor shower calendar , both read on November 1, 2026.
Is it active right now?
No Leonids yet. GMN tracked 121,940 meteors from Oct 2 to Nov 1, 2026, and none were Leonids. That is expected: the shower starts on November 6. This page updates each time the site is built (last update Nov 1, 2026).
What to expect in 2026
The IMO calendar lists several weak dust-trail encounters on November 17 to 19, 2026. Modelers Vaubaillon and Sato do not expect a significant outburst. AMS says Earth will not meet a dense debris cloud, the kind that makes a storm, until 2099.
What GMN cameras saw last year
GMN tracked 3,443 Leonids in November 2025. The busiest UTC day was November 18, with 737. 613 of them started glowing over a US state. That is 4% of the 93,761 meteors GMN tracked that month.
The brightest Leonid that month reached absolute magnitude -7.0 on Nov 18, 2025 at 02:28 UTC. It started glowing 139 km up, at 53.91° N, 2.10° W. Absolute magnitude is how bright a meteor would look 100 km away; lower is brighter (check).
Counts depend on weather and on how many cameras had clear skies, so they are not hourly rates. Source file: GMN monthly summary 202511 .
How to watch
- Get away from city lights and look at a wide patch of sky. You do not need a telescope.
- Give your eyes time to adjust to the dark, and stay off your phone screen.
- Check the forecast. GMN's own counts drop on cloudy nights, and so will yours.
- Saw a very bright one? Report it to the American Meteor Society .
Meteors near you
See what GMN cameras tracked over your state: meteors by US state. For tonight's other showers, see meteor shower tonight. Next shower guide: Geminid meteor shower.
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Add our free MCP server (how), then paste this. It runs on GMN's latest daily file.
01Newest Leonids
Use the Global Meteor Network to list the 5 newest Leonids (shower code LEO). For each one give the time in UTC, how bright it was, its speed, and where it started glowing. If there are none yet, say so.
Data: Global Meteor Network trajectory summaries, CC BY 4.0 . Cite Vida et al. 2020, MNRAS 491(2) and Vida et al. 2021, MNRAS 506(4). GMN data is preliminary and can change as more cameras report.
Questions people ask
When is the Leonid meteor shower 2026?
The Leonids are active from November 6 to 30, 2026, and peak on November 17. The IMO gives the maximum as November 17 at 23:45 UT. AMS lists November 16 to 17 as the peak night.
What time should I watch the Leonids in the US?
Watch in the hours before dawn on November 17 and November 18. The constellation Leo, where the meteors seem to come from, rises late in the night (check).
How many Leonids will I see per hour?
The IMO expects a ZHR of about 15 in 2026. That number assumes a perfect dark sky with the radiant overhead, so most people see fewer.
Will there be a Leonid meteor storm in 2026?
No storm is expected. The IMO calendar lists only weak dust-trail encounters on November 17 to 19, and AMS says Earth will not meet a dense debris cloud until 2099.
Where do the Leonids come from?
They are dust from comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. The comet's next perihelion is May 20, 2031, according to the IMO calendar.