Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Tuesday Night

The annual Leonid meteor shower peaks Tuesday night, but the question is will Oklahoma skies be clear?

According to Sky and Telescope, the Leonids usually provide a modest show, delivering 10 to 15 meteors per hour during their relatively brief peak. That will be the case again in 2015. 

The Leonid meteors provided spectacular shows in 1998 and 1999. They resulted because the particles' source, Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, was moving through the solar system during its 33-year-long orbit. 

Read the Sky and Telescope story.

The Leonids have surprised the theorists before, according to Sky and Telescope. There will be no moon tonight which will greatly help viewing conditions.

The shower get its name because it appears to originate from the head of the constellation Leo. Leo rises in the northeast between 11 p.m. and midnight after the moon sets. Sky and Telescope says the number of meteors you'll see increases steadily as Leo rises, and will be highest just before dawn.