A Leonid meteor shower larger than last year's, or even a meteor storm, may occur this month, but may not be seen in China, said experts at the Beijing Astronomical Observatory (BAO) on November 10.

A meteor shower, with more than 500 shooting stars an hour, may appear around the constellation Leo on November 17 and 18, said Zhao Gang, deputy-director of the BAO. "But Chinese star-gazers will probably not be able to observe this wonderful astronomical phenomenon if it occurs at noon Beijing time."

Some astronomers predict that the peak of this year's Leonid shower will happen at 3:00 to 4:00 am Greenwich Mean Time on November 18, which is 11:00 to 12:00 a.m., Beijing time. They said shower might occur earlier or later than the predicted because it cannot be forecast as precisely as an eclipse.

Astronomers had predicted that a Leonid meteor storm would take place in November last year and said China would be the best place to observe it. But instead of a "storm," star-watchers in China only saw a "drizzle" of meteors.

"If we are lucky this year, we will be able to see more than 1, 000 shooting stars an hour in the southeast sky in Beijing in the early hours of November 18," said Zhao Fuyuan, a research professor with the BAO.

Zhao said that the BAO is not going to organize any large-scale activities for people to watch the meteors this year so people won 't be disappointed again. (Xinhua)