The annual Leonid meteor shower will make its one-night appearance over North America tonight. Viewing conditions should be excellent because the peak will occur after midnight, when the lights of metropolitan areas will be at their dimmest.
Further, the presence of a new moon will make it much easier to see the white streaks across the sky.
The meteor shower is called the Leonids because the meteors appear to originate in the constellation Leo. In reality, they appear only in the last few seconds of their existence when they enter the upper atmosphere of the Earth.
