The Leonids are an annual event, and are considered by astronomers to be one of the best of the meteor showers, with around 40 an hour visible in the sky at the peak of its activity.

The shower also has a cyclic peak year every 33 years, when hundreds of meteors can be seen each hour. The last of these peaks was in 2001.

The shower peaks on November 17 and 18, but meteors associated with the shower can often be seen for several days before and after these dates.

The Leonid meteor shower gets its name from the fact that the meteors seem to originate from the constellation of Leo the night sky.

The shower occurs annually because as the earth orbits the sun, it passes through dust particles left by a comet. As it takes a year for the earth to orbit the sun, it passes through this debris field at the same point every year.

The Leonid mercury shower is associated with the Tempel-Tuttle comet. Particles left in space by the comet as it travels through space are known as meteoroids, and although tiny, hit the earth's upper atmosphere with a considerable speed and burn up, producing a 'shooting star' streak of light in the night sky.

Strong light from artificial sources such as streetlights make it more difficult to see meteors, as the bright light can drown out the faint traces of meteors. Watching the sky from a more rural location makes it is more likely to see meteors.

Looking for the meteors does not require any special equipment like binoculars or a telescope. They move across the sky quickly and a telescope of binoculars can have a more restricted field of vision than the naked eye, meaning that although you could have a more detailed look at an area of sky through an optical device, you will not see as much of the sky as you would without using one.