Leonid Meteor Shower 2012 Occurs This Weekend, Nov. 17-20

Keep your eyes on the sky during the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 17-20, because that's when the famous Leonid meteor shower is expected to peak. These meteors are fast (about 40 miles per second) and can leave trails of smoke, according to Astronomy.com. They will appear to radiate from the constellation Leo the Lion and can vary in color.

"Many Leonids are also bright. Usually, the meteors are white or bluish-white, but in recent years some observers reported yellow-pink and copper-colored ones," according toAstronomy.com. 

The best way to see the show locally, is to make sure we have a clear sky, and to try to go as far away from city lights as possible.  So maybe deep in the woods, or in an area that you know is a few miles away from a bright shopping center.  The city lights and the clods are you enemy for an event like this.

Here's one of the 10 coolest things to know about the Leonids, from Space.com: "Leonids are spawned by the comet Tempel-Tuttle. Every 33 years, it rounds the Sun and then goes back to the outer solar system. On each passage across Earth's orbit, Tempel-Tuttle lays down another trail of debris..."

The Leonids shower is so-called because the meteors seem to radiate outward from the constellation Leo. The starting point, called the radiant for obvious reasons, is found in the part of Leo that looks like a backwards question mark. 

The Leonids have been called a meteor "storm" (rather than just a "shower") some years, but reports say this year will be limited to "at best 10 to 15 meteors per hour." The last Leonid storm, with thousands of shooting stars per hour, was in 2002.

A report from MSNBC says there is a reason this year's display is a bit different: there will be "two peaks of activity, one on Saturday morning and another on Tuesday morning (Nov. 20)."

What is a meteor? It's the streak of light that we see when a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere. The Leonids usually contain many bright meteors with trails that can be seen for several minutes. Fireballs may be seen with the naked eye.

The shower began in mid-November. To see the Leonids, lie outside in a dark place between midnight and dawn. Point your feet east and look carefully. 

To make sure you get the best view possible, remember to check the weather forecast and conditions before you head outside to watch.