This year, the Leonid meteor shower will reach its peak pre-dawn, Nov. 17. There will be only a sliver of a waning moon that night, and dark skies give greater opportunities to observe gleaming streaks blaze across the sky.

The annual Leonids exhibit their best displays on a 33-year cycle, when comet Temple-Tuttle refreshes its debris field on its trip around the sun. Previous spectacles, particularly the years 1966, 1999, and 2001, tickle our attention towards the hook shape of Leo the Lion’s mane, the radiant point of the Leonids. Within living memory, it was the night of November 17, 1966, when the Leonids fell like rain. For 15 minutes, meteor rates were charted as high as thousands per minute.

On Nov. 21, the seventh planet from the sun, Uranus, will reach opposition. This is the best opportunity of the year to view Uranus. It will be at its brightest appearance since the 1990s, reaching its highest point at midnight. With the moon now at waxing crescent, the planet will be nearly visible without a telescope.

Astronomer William Herschel, discoverer of Uranus, originally honored England’s King George III by naming the planet after him. Other planets honored Greek and Roman mythologies, and the name choice, Uranus, lined up with the ancient lineage of Gods. Urania, the granddaughter of Uranus, is the goddess of Astronomy.