On the evening of Tuesday, November 17, and into the morning of Wednesday, November 18, the Leonid meteor shower will hit its peak. The annual event, caused by bits of ice and rock burning in Earth’s atmosphere, will create a host of shooting stars above the eastern horizon around midnight in the U.S. (local time on both coasts, when the constellation Leo rises). Here’s our guide to the shower. Where To Look, And When Any single meteor might appear anywhere, but for the most part Tuesday’s shooting stars will appear to come from the constellation Leo—hence, “Leonids.” Leo will rise above the eastern horizon at about midnight local time across the continent. But meteors will be visible even before then. So if you're in the U.S. and the skies are clear, head out any time after sunset on Tuesday, November 17, and look east. Try to find a dark site away from street lights, or better yet, away from cities altogether. 
 
 Leo, the apparent origin point for the meteors, rises in the east at midnight. That’s the direction to look to maximize the chance of spotting a shooting star Tuesday night. (This chart shows the constellations at midnight local time for the mid-latitudes of the U.S.) Katie Peek / Popular Science 
 
 Likely Awesomeness Rating: Medium The Leonids peak every three decades, and this shower comes mid-cycle—the last peak was in 1998. So we won’t see a phenomenal number of shooting stars. (If you’re bummed about that, console yourself with some of the illustrations of the famous 1833 Leonid meteor storm—a pretty incredible event.) This year, NASA predicts we’ll see one meteor about every four minutes. That’s a moderate rate. But in this year’s favor, the moon will be a crescent, which means a darker sky that makes streaks of light easier to spot. Strike against: the current cloud-cover forecast predicts overcast skies for a good fraction of the U.S. that night. Why Now? The Leonids happen every year around November 17. That’s when the Earth passes through the cloud of debris left behind by the comet Tempel-Tuttle. Don’t worry about an actual impact—Tempel-Tuttle is currently further than Uranus. We’re just crossing its orbit. There’s no chance we’ll hit the comet itself. 
 
 The Leonid meteor shower happens in November each year because that’s when the Earth, moseying along its orbit, passes through the debris field of the comet Tempel-Tuttle. Katie Peek / Popular Science; orbits from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory database. ||||| Come early Sunday morning (Nov. 18), the famous Leonid meteor shower will reach its peak, with lesser numbers expected on the preceding and following mornings. 
 
 According to Margaret Campbell-Brown and Peter Brown in the 2018 Observer's Handbook of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Earth will pass through the thickest part of the Leonid swarm at 7 p.m. EST (2300 GMT) on Nov. 17. But the best time to look will be during the after-midnight hours of Sunday morning, once the source the meteors appear to stream from, called the radiant, comes above the horizon for observers in North America. The meteors appear to fly away from a point located within the Sickle of Leo (hence the name "Leonids"). 
 
 Actually, the very best time to observe the Leonids is as close to dawn as possible. This is when viewers will be able to avoid glare from a waxing gibbous moon (which sets before 2 a.m. local time) and the radiant will climb well up in the southeastern sky. [Leonid Meteor Shower: When, Where & How to See It] 
 
 This NASA chart shows where to look to see the 2018 Leonid meteor shower overnight on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18. Credit: NASA 
 
 Under ideal dark-sky conditions, a single observer can expect to see about 10 to 15 of these ultraswift meteors each hour. They ram into our upper atmosphere at 45 miles (72 kilometers) per second — faster than any other meteor shower. As such, as many as half leave visible trails, and every once in a great while you might be treated to an outstandingly bright meteor (called a "fireball") or a meteor that silently explodes in a strobe-like flash along its path (called a "bolide"). Such meteors become so bright they can cast distinct shadows. 
 
 Since November mornings tend to be quite chilly, verging on downright cold, the best suggestion is to be sure and bundle up. The best piece of equipment for meteor watching is a long lounge chair in which you can lie back and look up without putting any stress on your neck. Look up into the sky, keep your eyes moving around and don't stare at any one place. Pretty soon you'll see a streak in the sky; mentally trace the streak backward. When another streak comes by, trace that backward also and see if it came from the same region of the sky as the first. 
 
 By the time a third streak appears, you should be able to verify that the emanation point is indeed within the Sickle, a backward question-mark pattern of stars that marks the head and mane of Leo, the Lion. 
 
 What most people remember about the Leonids are the spectacular meteor displays that they staged during the 1998 through 2002 time frame. In some cases, meteors fell at rates of up to 3,000 per hour! The cause of these stupendous displays was Earth's interaction with dense streamers of dust trailing immediately behind Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which sheds dusty comet debris into space each time it passes the sun at roughly 33-year intervals. The comet reached the far end of its orbit, called aphelion, in 2014, so the Leonids have been weak in recent years. 
 
 Unfortunately, on its way back in toward the sun, the comet will pass close to Jupiter, whose potent gravitational field will noticeably perturb the orbit of the comet and its accompanying dense trails of dust. So, stupendous "storms" of meteors are not likely to occur on the next Leonid cycle. Still, there is a chance of some significant activity. Russian meteor expert Mikhail Maslov has predicted that on Nov. 19, 2034, dust trails shed by the comet in 1699 and 1866 will partially overlap upon their interaction with Earth, possibly producing meteor rates in the many hundreds per hour. Not a meteor "storm," but still potentially a very impressive display. 
 
 Mark your calendars! 
 
 Editor's note: If you snap an amazing Leonid meteor shower photo you'd like to share with Space.com and our news partners for a possible story or image gallery, please send your photos to our staff at spacephotos@futurenet.com. 
 
 Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmers' Almanac and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for Verizon FiOS1 News in New York's Lower Hudson Valley. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. Original article on Space.com.
– Get ready to tune your eyes on the sky: The annual Leonid meteor shower will hit its peak overnight on Tuesday, sending shooting stars above the eastern horizon around midnight local time on both coasts. Unfortunately, clouds will cover much of the skies across the US, but those in areas with a clear forecast will enjoy a dark backdrop for the colorful meteors thanks to a crescent moon. NASA predicts there will be about 15 meteors per hour, or one every four minutes, at peak time. If you can't make it until midnight, some meteors will also be visible to the east after sunset, reports Popular Science.