Leonids Showers: Stargaze Naps & Smoke Trails, Not Meteorites

Brace yourself for November 16-17's celestial light show: the Leonid meteor shower, which comes with less moonlight than a vegan barbecue—thanks to that 10% waning crescent moon chiliing out until 4:30 a.m. Even Tucson, notorious for desert Sahara vibes, gets a cold snap into the 40s, so bring blankets or become a human popsicle. Casual astronomer comfort strategies include a reclining chair, a ready flashlight for 'urgent' snake checks, a non-alcoholic beverage for obvious reasons, and binoculars—not for meteors directly, but for spying on smoke trails lazily drifting through upper winds because why not turn star-gazing into a physics lesson? Discovered way back in December 1865 by William Temple and recapped 17 days later by Horace Tuttle, this two-discoverer shindig comes from Comet 55P/Temple-Tuttle, a cosmic duo act. Peak watching hits around 1 p.m. EST, a schedule seemingly designed to smash North American night owls’ hopes but perfect for night-shift stargazers across Eurasia. Expect a safe 10-15 Leonids per hour under dark skies, provided you can resist staring directly at Leo’s constellation radiant, which ironically hosts the least impressive streaks—starring longest traces overhead is the real flex here. And if you hoped for meteorite souvenirs, hold that thought; those guys don’t survive atmospheric hell intact—space popcorn, not space rocks.