However, the Leonids have a reputation for being unpredictable, so shooting-star lovers everywhere should keep on the lookout. For those who find the prospect of standing outside on a chill November evening unappealing, there is another option. For the third year in a row, experts at NASA will be monitoring the meteors with the help of a specially equipped weather balloon that will relay live video images back to Earth. Shooting stars aren't really stars at all, but meteoroids.
Meteoroids become meteors when they enter Earth's atmosphere.
If a meteor makes it to Earth without burning up entirely, it changes names once again to become a meteorite. The Leonid meteor shower is a barrage of shooting stars that appears every year on or about November 17. It is produced when the Earth passes close to the debris trail of a passing comet , and tiny particles of dusty debris burn up in Earth's atmosphere. The meteors enter the atmosphere at about 158,000 miles per hour, frequently leaving glowing trails for seconds or even minutes after they are vaporized. In an average Leonid meteor shower, one might expect to see about 15 to 20 meteors per hour.