In a meteor shower, lots of shooting stars seem to fall from one area of the sky. They happen when the Earth passes close to the orbit of a comet. Some people are confused by comets and meteors. A comet is different from a meteor. A comet is usually larger and travels slowly across the night sky.
Comets appear to be bright balls with fat tails.
The center of a comet is a ball of frozen gas, dust, and water. Like planets or moons, comets orbit around the sun. The comet that causes the Leonids is called Tempel-Tuttle. It is named after two scientists who discovered it at the end of 1865. They were each looking through telescopes.