Look up! The Leonid meteor shower peaks this weekend

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Keep an eye to the sky Sunday night. The peak of the Leonid meteor shower will be visible across the night sky into early Monday morning.

The meteor shower gets its name from the constellation Leo, the Lion, as the meteors will be coming from the stars that make up the lion's mane. But you don't need to look in the direction of the constellation, because the meteors will appear all across the sky.

A waning gibbous moon could interfere with viewing the meteors. In a dark sky, there are typically between 10 and 15 meteors per hour. Be sure to check online to see when it will be visible in your part of the world.

The best time to watch the Leonids is usually between the hours of midnight and dawn, according to EarthSky.

    he bright meteors can be colorful, and they're fast, moving at 44 miles per second -- among the fastest meteors. Fireballs and "earthgrazer" meteors are also a hallmark of the Leonid shower. Fireballs are brighter and larger and can last longer than the average meteor, while earthgrazers appear close to the horizon with long, colorful tails.

    "Go outside, find a dark sky, lie flat on your back and look straight up," said NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke. "And be prepared to spend a couple of hours outside."

    Unfortunately, this year's shower won't produce a meteor storm, which is when you can see upward of 1,000 meteors per hour. Although such an event has been associated with the Leonid meteor shower before, the last storm event happened in 2001.

    Check your local forecast here

    USA Today and CNN contributed to this report.