November's annual meteor shower — the Leonids — often boast a spectacular showing. This year should be no different.

The shower peaks between midnight and dawn on Nov. 18, Rhiannon Blaauw, a scientist with NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, told weather.com in an email. But that's not your only chance to spot a meteor this month.

“You can seeLeonidsanytime between now andNovember 30thby going outside during a clear dark night ... sometime between3 a.m.and dawn, letting your eyes adjust to the dark and taking in as much sky as possible (no telescopes/binoculars),” Blaauw said.

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The shower occurs around this time every year, as pieces of the comet 55P Tempel-Tuttle burn up in the atmosphere. During this year's peak on the 18th, sky gazers can expect to see about 15 meteors per hour. Conditions might be near ideal because the moon will be in between the and that of the first quarter, meaning lunar light will not hamper the view.

This year's forecast rate is a minuscule showing compared to the 1,000 or more meteors per hour that have characterized the Leonids in year's past. NASA defines a meteor rate this high — more than 1,000 per hour — as a meteor storms or outburst.

“In 1833 and 1866, reports of the Leonidstorms are almost unbelievable — with a few thousand meteors per hour — the sky appeared to be raining down,” Blaauw said.

The last storm occurred at the beginning of this century, in 1999, 2000 and 2001, meaning we have awhile to wait for the next one. Like all meteor showers, the Leonids are cyclical and depend on the parent comet's orbit around the sun. Tempel-Tuttle completes a full orbit, stretching from the sun to as far out as Uranus, every 33 years, . This means the next possible outburst is forecast for 2033.

As for how that shower will shape up, Blaauw put it this way: “Rates are unknown at this point — check back with me in 15 years.”

The constellation Leo the Lion gives the Leonids their name because the meteors “rain outward from the vicinity of the stars representing the Lion's mane,” Earthsky noted. But contrary to popular belief, you don't have to spot Leo to catch a falling meteor.

Instead, it's best to bundle up and lie back, taking in as much of the sky as possible. If it's dark enough and you time it right, you should catch meteors streaking across the night sky — radiating out in all directions.

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