The Leonids from Hawaiʻi
When the Leonids peak this year from Hawaiʻi, how high the radiant climbs at 19.8°N, and what the moon does to the night.
The 2026 peak night, computed for Hawaiʻi
Monday, November 16
77 days away.
Best around 5:08 AM HST, when the radiant tops out about 66° up.
The moon is 51% lit that night. Out of the way, the sky stays dark.
Planning further out: the next peak lands Nov 16, 2027, with the moon 83% lit.
✉️ Sky-event email alerts
Next up: The Geminids peak, December 13. We send one email about three days before it, with the sky forecast from up on the mountain, and the same for the handful of other showers a year worth the drive. Nothing else, and one click to stop.
What you'll actually see
The fastest meteors of any annual shower. Leonids hit the atmosphere nearly head-on, so they are brief, often brilliant, and leave trains that can twist in the high-altitude wind for many seconds.
Debris from comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, on a 33-year orbit. When the comet is near, the Leonids have produced true meteor storms: 1833, 1966, 2001. In an ordinary year they are a modest shower with an outsized reputation.
Entry speed: about 71 km/s.
When it runs
Active from about November 6 to 30. The next stretch of storm-watch years arrives in the early 2030s, when Tempel-Tuttle comes back around.
From 19.8°N
A pre-dawn shower here: the radiant, in the Sickle of Leo, does not climb until the small hours. Worth knowing about more than planning around in an ordinary year, and worth everything in a storm year.
Making the night work
The technique is the same for every shower: dark spot, no telescope, eyes adapted, radiant up. The rules live on the calendar page.
Tours & booking
No 4WD, or want it handled?
Summit tours from Kona, Waikoloa and Hilo bundle the 4WD, parkas, dinner and a telescope, typically $150 to $330 a person.
Tour or drive yourself? The honest comparison
Tour links are affiliate links to Viator; we may earn a commission at no cost to you.
Peak instants and radiant heights computed by this site from solar longitude with astronomy-engine; stream facts from the American Meteor Society and IMO shower notes. Independent project, affiliated with no observatory or agency.