Starwatch: how to see the Leonids meteor shower

They take their name from the constellation Leo and can be spotted from 6 to 30 November

This week, Starwatch is some advance warning for next week's peak of the Leonid meteor shower. The shower is under way now as it lasts from 6 to 30 November. The peak activity this year is expected in the early morning of 17 November.

The chart shows the view from London at midnight as 16 turns into 17 November. From Sydney, Australia, Leo will rise a few hours later. The Leonids take their name because they appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Leo, the lion. The radiant is situated just under the head of the lion, but do not look directly at it when searching for the shooting stars. The meteors, instead, appear in all directions around the radiant, so keep scanning the skies around this location.