Leonid meteor shower peaks over Kuwait on Tuesday 17 November
Around 15 an hour, from midnight until dawn, low in the north-east, best seen well away from city lights.
The Leonids, one of November’s reliable meteor showers, peak on Tuesday 17 November 2026, according to the Kuwait Astronomical Society. The shower has been active since 6 November and runs until 30 November, but the peak night is when you will see the most.
When and where to look
- Time: midnight to dawn, says the society’s president, Adel Al-Saadoun.
- Direction: the north-eastern sky, where the constellation Leo rises; the meteors appear to fly out of it.
- Rate: about 15 meteors an hour under a dark, clear sky.
- The Moon: first quarter on peak night, roughly half lit and setting around midnight, which leaves the second half of the night darker and better.
How to watch
Get as far from city lights as you sensibly can, give your eyes twenty minutes to adjust, and keep your phone screen off while they do. No binoculars or telescope needed: a meteor crosses a wide stretch of sky in a second, and the naked eye takes in more of it.
Where they come from
The Leonids are grit shed by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which swings past the Sun every 33 years. Each November Earth ploughs through its trail, and the particles hit the atmosphere at about 71 km a second, burning up roughly 80 km overhead, far above airliner height. Their colours depend on what they are made of: iron, magnesium, copper, calcium.
Photo: a Leonid meteor. Photo by Navicore, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Source: Kuwait Astronomical Society and its president Adel Al-Saadoun, via Al-Rai, 13 November 2026; International Meteor Organization 2026 shower calendar.
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