Leonid meteor shower peaks this weekend: Watch with NASA online

If you can find a clear, dark spot where the starry night sky is visible, you can expect to see as many as 15 to 20 shooting stars per hour. 

The Leonid meteor shower takes place each November as the Earth passes through a ring of rocky debris left by the comet Tempel-Tuttle.

The number of shooting stars we get to see down here is determined by what part of the comet’s orbit we pass through on any given year. In 1996, a pass through a really rocky part of the comet’s orbit led to a meteor storm of up to 1,000 per hour. 

The 15 to 20 meteors per hour expected this year is considered average for the Leonids.