Historically the November Leonids deliver one of the most active of the annual meteor showers. Occasionally the Leonids produce bona fide meteor storms, with rates of a few hundred to thousands of shooting stars an hour during the peak. (Get the scoop on last year's Leonids.)

This year's performance is expected to be modest but still a good sky show, with peak rates of up to 20 meteors an hour.

The best viewing dates for this year will be Wednesday and Thursday, with the official peak occurring on Wednesday at midday in North America, a time slot that favors observers in Asia.

"The meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Leo, the lion,