BEIJING (Reuter) - Chinese astronomers predict a large spectacular meteor shower over the next two years that could threaten spacecraft, scientists said Monday.

The Leonid meteor shower, which comes about every 30 years, should produce a spectacular display starting in November 1998 and running into 1999, a report by the Purple Mountain Observatory said.

``It is the first meteor shower that could be seen by Chinese this century.'' If the meteor shower occurred in 1998, it would be visible for people in eastern China. People in western China could watch it in 1999, said observatory astronomer Xu Pinxin.

The meteor shower could be large enough to threaten the safety of spacecraft, but would not harm humans, Xu said.

The Leonid -- so-called because they appear in the constellation Leo -- are dust from comet Temple-Tuttle, first named in 1865.