Each November the Earth drifts through the dust left behind by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, and this year that old crossing brings the Leonids to Spain in the small hours of Wednesday, November 18. It is a modest display rather than a storm, the kind of quiet reminder that the sky keeps its appointments even when it offers little drama. Whether anyone sees it depends on something older than any forecast: whether the clouds part and the lights of the town fall away. For those willing to step outside after midnight, the meteors arrive as they always have, brief bright scratches across the dark.
Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Over Spain Overnight, With Up to 15 Shooting Stars an Hour
Not a meteor storm, but a chance to see shooting stars without any equipment
Mark
So what is actually happening on the night of the 17th into the 18th?
Mimi
Spain's Leonid meteor shower peaks. The IGN says maximum activity is around 00:45 on Wednesday in mainland Spain and the Balearics, and 23:45 on Tuesday in the Canaries.
Mark
And how much will people see?
Mimi
About 15 meteors an hour in ideal conditions. That's in line with a normal Leonid year, which runs 10 to 20 an hour.
Luke
That 15 is a forecast for ideal conditions, not a promise. Under city lights or clouds, people will see far fewer, and the source doesn't give a figure for that.
Mark
Why do people associate the Leonids with something bigger?
Mimi
Past years brought spectacular displays, thousands of meteors, when Earth crossed a dense trail from comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. This year no storm is forecast.
Luke
Worth saying plainly: the article doesn't say which past years those were, only that they happened. And the 33-year orbit is the comet's, not a schedule for storms.
Mark
Any practical advice?
Mimi
Skip the binoculars, find a dark open spot, let your eyes adjust. The Moon sets around midnight, so the later hours should be darker.
Luke
The Moon timing is expected, not measured. And whether the sky is clear is still unknown until the night itself.
Mark
And if it's cloudy?
Mimi
The shower runs until November 30, just at lower activity.
The Pulse
- The Leonids peak just before 00:45 on November 18 across mainland Spain and the Balearics, with the Canaries an hour earlier.
- This is no storm: forecasters expect only about 15 meteors an hour, a far cry from the thousands seen in past outbursts.
- Streetlights, haze and cloud are the real obstacles, turning a modest shower into a near-invisible one for city dwellers.
- The advice is simple: leave the telescope behind, find an open dark spot, and let the eyes adjust while the Moon sets around midnight.
- If the peak night is overcast, the shower lingers at lower levels through November 30, so the chase is not over yet.
Each November the Earth drifts through the dust left behind by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, and this year that old crossing brings the Leonids to Spain in the small hours of Wednesday, November 18. It is a modest display rather than a storm, the kind of quiet reminder that the sky keeps its appointments even when it offers little drama. Whether anyone sees it depends on something older than any forecast: whether the clouds part and the lights of the town fall away. For those willing to step outside after midnight, the meteors arrive as they always have, brief bright scratches across the dark.
On the night of Tuesday into Wednesday, November 17 and 18, Spain will have its chance to see the Leonid meteor shower at its peak. Mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands reach maximum activity at around 00:45 on the 18th, while the Canary Islands get the same moment an hour earlier, at 23:45 on the 17th, according to the National Geographic Institute.
Anyone hoping for a dazzling storm should adjust their expectations. The forecast for 2026 is a modest shower of about 15 meteors an hour under ideal, dark skies, and no storm is expected this year. The Leonids have dazzled in other years, when Earth crosses a dense trail of debris from comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, but this is not one of those nights.
The best advice is to keep it simple. Leave binoculars and telescopes at home, since they narrow the view. Find an open place away from streetlights, buildings and trees, settle in comfortably, and give your eyes time to adjust. The meteors appear to come from Leo but can streak across any part of the sky. The Moon, in its first quarter, should set around midnight, leaving the later hours darker.
Clouds are the one thing no one can plan around. If the peak is lost to weather, the shower remains active at lower levels until November 30, so there are still chances to catch a shooting star.
The Leonid meteor shower reaches its peak over Spain in the small hours of Wednesday, November 18, and anyone who wants to see it will need to be outside after midnight. The National Geographic Institute, the IGN, puts maximum activity at about 00:45 that morning in mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands. In the Canary Islands the same moment arrives an hour earlier on the clock, at 23:45 on Tuesday, November 17.
Expectations are worth setting early. This is not a meteor storm, and anyone hoping for hundreds of streaks overhead is likely to go home disappointed. The forecast for 2026 is around 15 meteors an hour under ideal conditions, which means a dark, clear sky. The Leonids are usually a modest shower, producing between 10 and 20 an hour, and no storm is forecast this year.
The shower has a history that makes the modest number feel smaller. The Leonids have produced spectacular displays in the past, with thousands of meteors in the years when Earth crosses an especially dense trail of debris. The source is comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which takes around 33 years to orbit the Sun. Each November Earth passes through the dust it has left behind, and the particles burn up as they enter the atmosphere, leaving the bright lines seen from the ground.
The IGN's advice on watching is simple. Leave the telescope and binoculars at home, because optical equipment narrows the patch of sky you can see. Instead, get away from streetlights and other light pollution and pick an open spot with few obstructions. Buildings, trees and hills can block parts of the sky, and urban lighting makes the fainter meteors harder to spot.
The meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Leo, but they can cross any part of the sky, so there is no need to stare in one direction. The advice is to settle somewhere comfortable, face the darkest area you can find and give your eyes time to adjust. The IGN notes that from latitudes around 40 degrees north, the radiant rises above the horizon from midnight and stays visible until dawn. A warm blanket helps if you plan to stay out that long.
The Moon should cooperate. It will be in its first quarter and is expected to set around midnight, leaving the later hours darker, just when the shower is at its best.
The weather is the real variable. Clear skies will decide how much anyone sees, so it is worth checking local conditions before heading out. The shower is active from November 6 to 30, so a cloudy peak night does not end the chance of seeing something. Activity on other nights will be lower, but shooting stars may still appear until the end of the month.
Notable Quotes
Leave optical equipment aside, because it narrows the amount of sky you can see.— National Geographic Institute (IGN), paraphrased
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