We're Getting a Meteor Shower Thursday Night

It's time for the annual Leonid meteor shower. Skywatchers who venture out between midnight and dawn Thursday night into Friday morning should get a treat, reports USA Today. For those who can't make it, Friday night into Saturday morning also should provide an opportunity. The Leonids typically offer 15 or so shooting stars per hour, but AccuWeather reports that this year should provide more, possibly up to 10 times that figure. Of course, specific local conditions will affect things, and the site notes that the interior Pacific Northwest, the interior Southwest, the Mississippi Valley, and the mid-Atlantic region might get the best views.

As the name suggests, the Leonid meteors appear to originate from the Leo the Lion constellation, but they should be visible in all areas of the sky. The advice from Space.com:

• "To best see the Leonids, go to the darkest possible location, lean back and relax. You don't need any telescopes or binoculars as the secret to a good meteor viewing experience is to take in as much sky as possible. Make sure to allow about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark."

(More Leonids stories.)