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The annual Leonid meteor shower is back, and this weekend is the best time to view it.
USA TODAY

Several meteors are seen streaking through the sky during the Leonid meteor shower over Joshua Tree National Park, Calif., In this approximately 25-minute time exposure on Nov. 18, 2001.(Photo: REED SAXON, AP)

This weekend: The peak of the Leonid meteor shower – an annual mid-November treat – will be visible Saturday night (Nov. 16) and early Sunday morning (Nov. 17 ).

The Leonids appear to be from the constellation Leo the Lion in their east, but they should be visible all the way across the sky.

Some of the greatest meteor showers ever seen the Leonids. In some years, they've been a full-fledged meteor storm: The 1833 Leonid meteor storm included an amazing 100,000 meteors per hour, Earthsky.org said.

No such storm is forecast this year, though: Viewers should see an hourly rate of some 10 to 15 meteors.

Also known as "shooting stars," the meteors are actually leftover comet dust. They're tiny pea- and sand-sized bits of dust and debris crumbling off the Tempel-Tuttle comet as it swings by the Earth. (Earth's orbit takes it straight through the debris trail.)

The dust and debris ignites when it hits our atmosphere.

The most important meteor showers, the best time to watch the Leonids is usually between the hours of midnight and dawn, according to Earthsky.org. Sky & Telescope agrees, noting that the shower "should be at its best in the three hours between moonset and the beginning of Sunday's dawn."

David Samuhel, a meteorologist and astronomy blogger at AccuWeather, said people should dedicate at least an hour to viewing the meteor shower. "Do not look at any light source like that, like a phone, flashlight, or any type of screen," he said.

more: How to view the Leonid meteor showing peaking this weekend

"Your eyes will gradually adjust to a half hour, then you will be able to get as far as possible."

The keys to the view of the shower are the phase of the moon and the weather.

First, there's mixed news about the moon: Although a bright moon will be out for the first part of the night, it will be in the middle of the night. EarthSky's Deborah Bird suggests watching the shower during the predawn hours, or after the moon has set.

Saturday morning, the best viewing conditions West and the southeastern U.S.

"Dry weather may dominate the north-central and western United States," AccuWeather meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said.

The poorest viewing weather will be around the Great Lakes, Central Plains and Southern Texas. "It may be a good time to have a great weather, where a lake-effect snow event may be underway," Pydynowski said.

"Some clouds may streak into the I-95 corridor, but even there are enough breaks in the clouds," he added.

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