The Leonid meteor shower peaks November 17-18, 2026 under a nearly moonless sky. Here's how to watch it and how Galaxy Explorer Wheel tracks it.
Every November, Earth crosses the debris trail left by Comet Tempel-Tuttle, and the Leonid meteor shower streaks out of the constellation Leo to mark it. This year's peak falls on the night of Tuesday, November 17 into the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday, November 18, 2026 — and the timing works in your favor.
The moon is a 6% waxing crescent that night and sets in early evening, so it's out of the way for the entire prime viewing window. Expect roughly 10 to 15 meteors an hour under a genuinely dark sky, with the best stretch running from midnight to about 5:30 a.m. local time, once Leo has climbed well above the horizon.
Galaxy Explorer Wheel keeps a real meteor shower calendar and only hands out its shower bonus when the radiant — the point in the sky the meteors trace back to — is actually above the horizon at your real location. The Leonids radiant sits near Leo's "sickle" asterism, easy enough to pick out once you know to look for it, and the game's sky-matching overlay will confirm you're facing the right direction before you settle in.
Spin Galaxy Explorer Wheel anytime in the days around November 17-18 and check whether the shower bonus is live for your location. You don't need the app pointed at the sky the entire time you're watching — just enough to confirm your bearings, then put the phone down and let your eyes adjust.
Nothing but a dark-ish patch of sky and about 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust. No telescope, no binoculars, no clear reason to stay up until 3 a.m. besides the meteors themselves.
Check tonight's sky on Galaxy Explorer →
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