Stargazing and Leonids Meteor Shower 2023

A practical guide to the Leonids meteor shower and stargazing conditions, including timing, moon phase, and comfortable night-sky viewing.

The 2023 Leonids peaked on the night of 17-18 November and arrived in their usual moderate baseline state, well away from one of the dramatic storm years that the shower is historically famous for. The parent comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle orbits the Sun every 33 years, and the periodic storms cluster around its returns; with the comet now far from perihelion, the Leonids currently deliver around 10 to 15 fast, bright meteors per hour at peak. From UAE desert sites in 2023, the show was modest but rewarding, helped by a slim crescent Moon. This recap covers the science, the local observing experience and the role of citizen counts. Use time.now/dubai, sunrise.am and time.now for follow-on tools.

The Leonid Stream and Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle

The Leonids originate from comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which orbits the Sun every 33 years. Each return refreshes dense filaments of dust along the orbit, and historically the Leonids have produced spectacular meteor storms in the years immediately following perihelion, most famously in 1833, 1866, 1966, 1999 and 2001. Between storms, the stream relaxes to a quieter background rate of roughly 10 to 15 meteors per hour at the zenith. NASA Comets discusses how cometary orbits and dust trails evolve over time, while NASA Meteor Showers sets out the Leonids' position in the annual calendar. In 2023, with Tempel-Tuttle far from the inner solar system, the background level applied.

Fast Meteors, Earth-Grazers and Persistent Trains

Leonid meteors are among the fastest seen all year, entering the atmosphere at around 71 km per second. The high speed makes them strikingly swift across the field of view and increases the chance of persistent train phenomena: ionised wakes that glow for several seconds after the meteor itself has burned out. In the early evening, when the radiant in Leo is low, the geometry favours Earth-grazers, long horizontal meteors that skim the upper atmosphere. UAE observers in 2023 picked up several such events in the late evening hours. The American Meteor Society maintains a public fireball portal that captured a number of bright Leonid reports from the November 2023 window.

Naked-Eye Observing and Moon Conditions

For Leonid observing, as with every shower, the technique is eyes-only. In November 2023 the Moon offered useful cooperation: peak night fell between new Moon on 13 November and first quarter on 20 November, so a slim waxing crescent set during the early evening, leaving the prime observing hours moon-free. UAE observers used reclining chairs, warm layers and red-light torches to preserve dark adaptation, scanning the upper part of the sky and counting Leonids in 15-minute blocks. The International Meteor Organization handbook describes the standard visual-counting protocol used by contributing observers.

UAE Radiant Rise and Best Observing Hours

The Leonid radiant in Leo rises in the UAE sky around local midnight on peak night and climbs steadily through the small hours, reaching a good altitude by 03:00. The best observing window therefore runs from roughly 01:00 to astronomical dawn, which can be checked precisely against sunrise.am and time.now/al-ain for inland sites. Several UAE groups in 2023 started informal sessions earlier in the evening to catch potential Earth-grazers, then settled into systematic counting after midnight. The Time and Date Meteor Shower Calendar meteor shower calendar lists peak times that align with these local windows.

UAE Sites and Light-Pollution Realities

Leonid observing in 2023 used the same set of UAE desert sites that the broader observing community relies on. Al Qudra Lakes is the most accessible from Dubai; the Mleiha desert in Sharjah and the Hatta foothills offer darker horizons but require longer drives; the dunes east of Al Ain near Jebel Hafeet provide an excellent southern horizon. Mushrif Park, the home of Al Thuraya Astronomy Center, is convenient for public events and naked-eye orientation but is too close to Dubai's light dome for serious meteor counts, particularly for a quieter shower like the Leonids where every faint meteor matters. DarkSky International continues to advocate for the lighting reforms that would, over time, improve all such urban-edge sites.

Citizen Science and the 2023 Outcome

Aggregated 2023 Leonid data, collated by the International Meteor Organization and the American Meteor Society, confirmed a typical inter-storm-year return with a zenithal hourly rate close to the expected 10 to 15. UAE observers contributed a modest number of visual counts and a handful of fireball reports. The slow Leonid year served, in many ways, as a refresher exercise for observers preparing for the much busier Geminid peak less than a month later. For background context, NASA Meteor Showers provides a clear overview of the Leonid place in the calendar and the long timescales over which the storm years recur.

Timing And Planning

For current local time and time-zone checks, use time.now. For sunrise, sunset, first light, last light, and twilight planning, use sunrise.am.

High Authority References

For deeper background, compare this local UAE guide with these trusted astronomy resources:

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Leonids per hour in 2023?

The shower delivered roughly its baseline background rate of 10 to 15 meteors per hour at the zenith. UAE observers at dark desert sites reported visible counts in the high single digits to low teens during the best post-midnight hours.

When is the next Leonid storm?

Storm years cluster around the returns of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, whose 33-year orbit next brings it to perihelion around 2031. Whether that triggers an actual storm depends on the precise alignment of Earth with dense filaments of the dust trail.

Why are Leonids so fast?

Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle orbits the Sun in the opposite direction to Earth, so when our planet crosses the stream the meteoroids meet us nearly head-on. The combined speed is around 71 km per second, the fastest of any major annual shower.

Was the Moon a problem?

No. The Moon was a slim waxing crescent that set during the early evening, leaving the post-midnight hours essentially moon-free. That was the main reason UAE observers were able to reach the shower's baseline rate.

Where should I watch Leonids from in the UAE?

Al Qudra Lakes, the Mleiha desert, the Hatta foothills and the dunes near Al Ain are the standard dark-sky options. Mushrif Park is too close to Dubai's lights for meaningful counts of a shower as quiet as the current-era Leonids.