Is there a meteor shower tonight? Here's when, what time to see Leonids

[Buster's Uncle]

Erie Times News
Is there a meteor shower tonight? Here's when, what time to see brilliant, zooming Leonids
Maria Francis, USA TODAY NETWORK
Fri, November 14, 2025 at 10:13 AM EST
4 min read





The brilliant November Leonid meteor shower 2025 is set to peak later this weekend against a backdrop of a waning crescent moon and two colorful Taurid meteor showers that are also shooting golden fireballs across the sky.

This weekend's Leonids display will peak on Sunday-into-Monday, producing up to 15 meteors per hour against a nearly moonless night sky, with the best views expected to take place just after midnight on Sunday into the early dawn of Monday morning, Nov. 17.

The crescent moon phase during the weekend will be at 9% illumination when it rises in Monday's predawn hours, leaving the meteor shower's prime viewing hours at their darkest and best to see bright shooting stars and fiery, colorful meteors streaking through the sky.

The peak of the Leonids will come as two other meteor showers are also active right now — the Southern Taurids and the Northern Taurids. Both named Taurid because "both streams radiate from the constellation Taurus the Bull, not far from the bright star Aldebaran and the tiny, misty, dipper-shaped Pleiades," according to EarthSky.

The Southern Taurids reached their peak on Nov. 4-5, but are active through Nov. 20, 2025, overlapping the Northern Taurid which peaked on Nov. 11-12 and remain active until Dec. 10. Both will share the spotlight with the popular Leonids, which started on Nov. 6 and will continue until Nov. 30.

Here's when to see, where to look, how to watch and what to know about all the November 2025 Leonid meteor shower and moon phases.


What is a meteor shower?

A meteor shower is celestial event that happens when Earth passes through the path of a comet or the trail of debris left by a comet or asteroid during its orbit around the sun. The debris is called meteoroids.

Meteoroids enter the Earth's atmosphere at high speeds and burn up, streaking the sky with bright moving lights, like a "shooting star" from what appears to be a single point in the sky, called the radiant. They range in size from dust-like particles to boulder size.

These meteor showers are named for the constellation where the meteors appear to be coming from.

The best time of day to see a meteor shower is around midnight according to Space.com, it's best to go to the "darkest possible location, and wait about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark."


When can you see the Leonid meteor shower?

The popular Leonid meteor shower display of shooting stars that light up the skys started on Nov. 6, lasting through the 30th with a peak overnight Nov. 16-17. They are named Leonids because their meteors appear to come from the constellation Leo.

The Leonids are a result of the comet Tempel-Tuttle's melting particles that disintegrate as it passes close to the Sun during its orbit, leaving a trail of debris roughly the size of grains of sand or smaller, according to the Almanac. Earth travels through this debris field every year, hence the annual Leonid meteor shower.

Leonid meteor showers are known for their speed, according to LiveScience, "striking Earth's atmosphere at approximately 44 miles per second," and producing bright meteors, also referred to as 'fireballs,' which sometimes leave 'persistent trails.'


What is best time to see the Leonids meteor shower?

The best time to watch the Leonids this year will be just after midnight on the night of Nov. 16 and into the early morning hours of the 17th against the dark sky and waning crescent moon, making for great views. They average a typical 10 to 15 shooting stars per hour or more.


Where can the Leonid meteor shower 2025 be seen?

The Leonids will be visible across the United States, while appearing to originate from the direction of the Northern Hemisphere constellation Leo, hence, the name 'Leonid' meteor shower.

You don't need a telescope or a pair of binoculars to see the meteors, just find a dark, rural spot away from city lights and give your eyes 20-30 minutes to adjust to the dark and then look anywhere in the sky.


What are the current moon phases?

🌕 Full Moon: Nov. 5🌗 Last Quarter: Nov. 12🌑 New Moon: Nov. 20🌓 First Quarter: Nov. 28🌕 Full Moon: Dec. 4


When is the December full moon 2025?

The December full moon of 2025, the cold supermoon, will occur on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.


When is winter solstice 2025?

The winter solstice will bring us the shortest day of the year on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, with approximately 9 hours, 17 minutes of daylight.

To check how many hours of sunlight you'll get and the sunrise/sunset times in your area, click here.

Maria Francis is a Pennsylvania-based journalist who covers trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic region.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Best time to see November Leonid meteor shower 2025 how, where, when