The Leonids peak on the night of 17–18 November. Watch from moonset until first light.
The night of 17–18 November shows the most almost everywhere; in 6 of 87 cities, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland among them, it is the night of 16–17 November. The moon is 50–60% lit and sets before dawn in all 87 cities. The radiant, in Leo, stands highest before dawn: from a dark site, expect about 10 meteors an hour at best in most of them, and up to 14 where it climbs highest.
Where you are
Your placeWorked out when the page opens
Dark sky—
The moon—
When to watch—
The radiant—
At a dark site—
The Americas
Atlanta17–18 Nov · 12:47 – 5:45 AM · radiant 70° up · about 9 an hour
Austin17–18 Nov · 12:46 – 5:35 AM · radiant 71° up · about 9 an hour
Bogotá17–18 Nov · 12:51 – 4:31 AM · radiant 59° up · about 9 an hour
Boston17–18 Nov · 11:41 PM – 5:00 AM · radiant 65° up · about 9 an hour
Buenos Aires17–18 Nov · 3:14 – 3:59 AM · radiant 17° up · about 3 an hour
Chicago17–18 Nov · 11:51 PM – 5:06 AM · radiant 66° up · about 9 an hour
Dallas17–18 Nov · 12:39 – 5:34 AM · radiant 70° up · about 9 an hour
Denver17–18 Nov · 12:06 – 5:14 AM · radiant 67° up · about 9 an hour
Houston17–18 Nov · 12:37 – 5:25 AM · radiant 71° up · about 9 an hour
Las Vegas17–18 Nov · 11:52 PM – 4:51 AM · radiant 69° up · about 9 an hour
Lima17–18 Nov · 1:32 – 4:16 AM · radiant 43° up · about 7 an hour
Los Angeles17–18 Nov · 12:07 – 5:01 AM · radiant 70° up · about 9 an hour
Mexico City17–18 Nov · 1:09 – 5:29 AM · radiant 69° up · about 9 an hour
Miami17–18 Nov · 12:43 – 5:20 AM · radiant 71° up · about 10 an hour
Minneapolis17–18 Nov · 12:10 – 5:32 AM · radiant 63° up · about 9 an hour
Montréal17–18 Nov · 11:47 PM – 5:13 AM · radiant 63° up · about 9 an hour
Nashville17–18 Nov · 11:54 PM – 4:57 AM · radiant 69° up · about 9 an hour
New Orleans17–18 Nov · 12:16 – 5:04 AM · radiant 71° up · about 9 an hour
New York17–18 Nov · 11:55 PM – 5:11 AM · radiant 66° up · about 9 an hour
Philadelphia17–18 Nov · 12:01 – 5:14 AM · radiant 67° up · about 9 an hour
Phoenix17–18 Nov · 12:42 – 5:36 AM · radiant 70° up · about 9 an hour
Portland16–17 Nov · 11:56 PM – 5:29 AM · radiant 63° up · about 9 an hour
Rio de Janeiro17–18 Nov · 1:39 – 3:37 AM · radiant 31° up · about 6 an hour
Salt Lake City16–17 Nov · 12:23 – 5:41 AM · radiant 66° up · about 9 an hour
San Diego17–18 Nov · 12:04 – 4:56 AM · radiant 70° up · about 9 an hour
San Francisco16–17 Nov · 12:11 – 5:21 AM · radiant 68° up · about 9 an hour
Santiago17–18 Nov · 3:59 – 4:53 AM · radiant 18° up · about 3 an hour
São Paulo17–18 Nov · 1:55 – 3:49 AM · radiant 30° up · about 6 an hour
Seattle16–17 Nov · 11:50 PM – 5:29 AM · radiant 62° up · about 9 an hour
Toronto17–18 Nov · 12:14 – 5:35 AM · radiant 64° up · about 9 an hour
Vancouver16–17 Nov · 11:49 PM – 5:34 AM · radiant 60° up · about 9 an hour
Washington, DC17–18 Nov · 12:10 – 5:21 AM · radiant 67° up · about 9 an hour
Europe
Amsterdam17–18 Nov · 12:10 – 6:06 AM · radiant 58° up · about 10 an hour
Athens17–18 Nov · 12:27 – 5:37 AM · radiant 68° up · about 12 an hour
Barcelona17–18 Nov · 12:46 – 6:06 AM · radiant 66° up · about 11 an hour
Berlin17–18 Nov · 11:35 PM – 5:32 AM · radiant 58° up · about 11 an hour
Brussels17–18 Nov · 12:16 – 6:07 AM · radiant 59° up · about 11 an hour
Copenhagen17–18 Nov · 11:29 PM – 5:38 AM · radiant 55° up · about 10 an hour
Dublin17–18 Nov · 11:51 PM – 5:51 AM · radiant 57° up · about 10 an hour
Edinburgh17–18 Nov · 11:31 PM – 5:42 AM · radiant 55° up · about 10 an hour
Hamburg17–18 Nov · 11:46 PM – 5:47 AM · radiant 57° up · about 10 an hour
Helsinki17–18 Nov · 11:23 PM – 5:53 AM · radiant 51° up · about 10 an hour
Istanbul17–18 Nov · 1:00 – 6:19 AM · radiant 67° up · about 12 an hour
Lisbon17–18 Nov · 12:37 – 5:49 AM · radiant 68° up · about 11 an hour
London17–18 Nov · 11:32 PM – 5:25 AM · radiant 58° up · about 10 an hour
Madrid17–18 Nov · 1:12 – 6:29 AM · radiant 67° up · about 11 an hour
Milan17–18 Nov · 12:10 – 5:42 AM · radiant 63° up · about 11 an hour
Moscow17–18 Nov · 11:48 PM – 5:58 AM · radiant 55° up · about 11 an hour
Munich17–18 Nov · 11:54 PM – 5:35 AM · radiant 61° up · about 11 an hour
Nice17–18 Nov · 12:21 – 5:48 AM · radiant 64° up · about 11 an hour
Oslo17–18 Nov · 11:21 PM – 5:50 AM · radiant 51° up · about 10 an hour
Paris17–18 Nov · 12:29 – 6:13 AM · radiant 60° up · about 11 an hour
Porto17–18 Nov · 12:30 – 5:49 AM · radiant 66° up · about 11 an hour
Prague17–18 Nov · 11:37 PM – 5:25 AM · radiant 59° up · about 11 an hour
Reykjavík17–18 Nov · 12:23 – 7:05 AM · radiant 47° up · about 8 an hour
Rome17–18 Nov · 12:04 – 5:25 AM · radiant 66° up · about 11 an hour
Stockholm17–18 Nov · 10:54 PM – 5:20 AM · radiant 51° up · about 10 an hour
Venice17–18 Nov · 11:57 PM – 5:29 AM · radiant 63° up · about 11 an hour
Vienna17–18 Nov · 11:34 PM – 5:16 AM · radiant 61° up · about 11 an hour
Warsaw17–18 Nov · 11:05 PM – 5:01 AM · radiant 58° up · about 11 an hour
Zürich17–18 Nov · 12:08 – 5:46 AM · radiant 62° up · about 11 an hour
Africa
Cairo17–18 Nov · 12:10 – 4:59 AM · radiant 71° up · about 13 an hour
Cape Town17–18 Nov · 3:05 – 3:55 AM · radiant 18° up · about 4 an hour
Lagos17–18 Nov · 1:39 – 5:24 AM · radiant 60° up · about 11 an hour
Marrakesh17–18 Nov · 1:45 – 6:38 AM · radiant 71° up · about 11 an hour
Nairobi17–18 Nov · 1:37 – 4:59 AM · radiant 54° up · about 11 an hour
Asia
Bali17–18 Nov · 1:37 – 4:33 AM · radiant 46° up · about 10 an hour
Bangkok17–18 Nov · 12:59 – 5:04 AM · radiant 66° up · about 13 an hour
Beijing17–18 Nov · 12:12 – 5:28 AM · radiant 67° up · about 13 an hour
Bengaluru17–18 Nov · 1:02 – 5:05 AM · radiant 66° up · about 14 an hour
Delhi17–18 Nov · 12:39 – 5:24 AM · radiant 71° up · about 14 an hour
Hong Kong17–18 Nov · 12:51 – 5:19 AM · radiant 70° up · about 13 an hour
Kyoto17–18 Nov · 12:04 – 5:05 AM · radiant 69° up · about 12 an hour
Mumbai17–18 Nov · 1:11 – 5:31 AM · radiant 69° up · about 14 an hour
Osaka17–18 Nov · 12:05 – 5:06 AM · radiant 69° up · about 12 an hour
Seoul17–18 Nov · 12:34 – 5:43 AM · radiant 68° up · about 12 an hour
Shanghai17–18 Nov · 12:08 – 4:59 AM · radiant 70° up · about 13 an hour
Singapore17–18 Nov · 2:05 – 5:35 AM · radiant 56° up · about 11 an hour
Taipei17–18 Nov · 12:17 – 4:52 AM · radiant 71° up · about 13 an hour
Tel Aviv17–18 Nov · 11:53 PM – 4:47 AM · radiant 71° up · about 13 an hour
Tokyo17–18 Nov · 11:47 PM – 4:50 AM · radiant 69° up · about 12 an hour
Oceania
Auckland17–18 Nov · 3:51 – 4:18 AM · radiant 14° up · about 3 an hour
Brisbane17–18 Nov · 1:48 – 3:19 AM · radiant 26° up · about 5 an hour
Honolulu16–17 Nov · 1:01 – 5:26 AM · radiant 70° up · about 10 an hour
Melbourne17–18 Nov · 3:54 – 4:12 AM · radiant 13° up · about 3 an hour
Perth17–18 Nov · 2:29 – 3:33 AM · radiant 20° up · about 4 an hour
Sydney17–18 Nov · 3:15 – 4:05 AM · radiant 18° up · about 4 an hour
How it is worked out
The showerThe International Meteor Organization puts the Leonids’ rate at 15 an hour at the peak, for a radiant overhead under a perfectly dark sky. The rate here falls away on either side of the peak as the organization’s profile does.
The nightThe peak is an instant, 2026-11-17 23:46 UTC this time. Each place’s night is the one, of the three around it, whose best hour shows the most meteors.
The radiantThe radiant is the point the meteors seem to come from, in Leo, at +22° of declination. The higher it stands, the more meteors reach your sky: the rate here is the shower’s times the sine of its height.
The dark and the moonDark is the sun 18° below the horizon. The moon’s light hides the fainter meteors, so the hours to watch are the dark ones after it sets, read through the night to the minute.
Your own skyThe rates are for a dark site with a clear sky. Street lights hide most meteors, so a town shows far fewer, and cloud shows none.
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