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Are you staying up late for Leonid meteor shower? The 2009 sky show may be spectacular. The Leonid Meteor shower peaks early Tuesday morning November 17, 2009. The first stream will cross over Earth about 4 a.m. ET. and some lucky skywatchers may see as many as 20-30 meteors per hour, though it is always difficult to predict.

Leonid Meteor Shower 2009 - Tonight's Viewing Tips

Bill Cooke, of NASA's meteoroid environment office said, "We can predict when Earth will cross a debris stream with pretty good accuracy," Cooke told CNN News. "The intensity of the display is less certain, though, because we don't know how much debris is in each stream."


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution offers these tips:

Along with a comfortable lawn chair and thick blanket, here are some suggestions for optimal viewing:

- Be outside between midnight and 4 a.m.

- Don’t haul out your telescope — it limits your view. You want to see the entire breadth of the sky.

- Get as far away from city lights as possible. A very dark sky provides the best backdrop. (Whitt recommends traveling about 50 miles north for the best viewing.)

- Find an open space away from trees, with a clear view of the sky.

- Look toward the east, where Leo is rising.

- Allow about 20 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the dark. If you’re carrying a flashlight, cover it with a paper bag so the brightness doesn’t affect your vision.