Leonid meteor shower activity peaks this weekend

Hopefully the bright, waning moon this weekend doesn't obscure the view of the annual Leonid meteor shower, which peaks on Sunday.

The Leonid meteor shower, which is visible this year until Dec. 5, is made up of material left behind by repeated passages by the comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.

The meteor shower is expected to peak at around 15 meteors per hour before dawn on Sunday, Nov. 17.

The meteors should be visible in all parts of the sky and persistent trains should also be visible with the event.

However, space.com reports there will also be a bright, waning moon on the peak night that may brighten the sky and possibly wash out a few of the meteors.

The Leonid shower is known for producing meteor storms of up to 1,000 meteors an hour, but that is not expected to occur this year. The last great Leonid meteor storm occurred in 2001, according to earthsky.org.

If night sky photography is your thing, check out some tips and tricks here.

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