The Leonids are a meteor shower that appear in the sky near the constellation of Leo.

The shower occurs annually in November, but is most pronounced about every 33 years.  We’re on the waning portion of that now.  The most recent peak was from 1998-2002.

During the peak, you can see a few thousand meteors per hour.  Last night it was closer to about 10 per hour.  But, because last night was also a new moon, the view was better than usual.  The best show is in Asia this year, but you should be able to catch a few just about anywhere, if you can get away from the light.

I woke The Wife^® up at about 1:30 AM, and we drove south a few miles to a deserted road with far fewer lights.  Somewhat surprisingly, we weren’t the only people who had that idea.

The show happens almost due east.  You can use Mars as a guide.  (It’s rather large and quite red at the moment.)

We had one confirmed sighting, and a few questionable ones.  Your eyes tend to play tricks on you when you’re staring at the sky for that long.

You may be able to catch a few tonight too.  The show starts around 1 AM Pacific Time/2 AM Central.  Or, if you’re an early riser, you could catch a few before the sun comes up.