Meteors to light up Aussie skies in 'memorable' celestial event

The Leonid meteor shower is reaching its peak as the Earth passes through the debris of Comet Temple-Tuttle.

Monash University astronomy associate professor Michael Brown said up to 15 meteors will be visible every hour at the peak.

"Every few minutes or so there will be a bright shooting star," he said.

"The Leonids tend to be particularly bright, because they're often coming in quite fast into our atmosphere about 70 kilometers every second.

"The Leonids are visible in the early morning hours and as the name suggests, they will appear to fly away from the constellation Leo."

The Leonids are famous for producing incredible meteor storms every 33 years as the Comet Temple-Tuttle orbits the sun.

The last major Leonid storm was in 2002, and the next one is forecast for 2035.

While tonight's shower won't see hundreds of meteors flying overhead every few minutes, it's still an opportunity to see bright shooting stars.

The best time to see the meteors will be between 3am and 6am on November 19.

Associate professor Brown said he still gets a kick from seeing shooting stars even after more than two decades in the astronomy field.

He recommended getting up in the early hours of Tuesday morning and using a free phone app to find Leo and other celestial objects.

"Meteor spotting is best done away from city lights, although this year the Moon will produce some natural light pollution that will somewhat hinder meteor spotting," he said.

"Meteor showers are produced when the Earth passes through the orbits of comets, with the cometary dust and pebbles slamming into the Earth's upper atmosphere at tens of kilometres per second.

"It is something that's wonderful and memorable if very fleeting."

And if you don't get a chance to see the meteors tonight, associate professor Brown said there's no need to panic.

"The meteors tend to have a peak on a night or two and then they gradually decline over the course of the week," he said.

"So there'll even be some later in the week, they'll just be less frequent."