Head outside tonight and early tomorrow morning for the peak of the Leonid meteor shower. The Leonids occur every year around Nov. 17, when Earth plows through a cloud of dusty debris from comet Tempel-Tuttle. The gritty, dusty debris stream was laid down by the Leonids' parent comet more than 500 years ago in 1466.

Because the peak of this year's shower occurs the day after the new moon, you may see as many as 100 meteors per hour streak across the sky from an area around the shower's radiant in the constellation Leo. Because Leo doesn't rise until about midnight, best viewing will occur between 3 a.m. and dawn in the eastern sky.

Always remember, for best viewing of a meteor shower, find a dark location away from the glow of city lights with a clear view of the horizon that the shower's namesake's constellation will rise over. Binoculars or telescope aren't necessary to view meteor showers. Your eyes will do just fine.

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