Two annual meteor showers are now active, with the potential to produce dramatic fireballs in the weeks leading up to their November peak.
As the name suggests, these are meteors from both southern and northern Tauride Meteor shower seem to emanate from an origin point in the constellation bullwhich rises in the eastern sky in the hours before midnight throughout October. They also share a common parent in the form of the Wanderer comet 2P/Encke, shedding debris in a giant loop during its 3.3-year orbit the sun. As Earth travels through this debris, dust particles and other matter heat up due to the friction of our planet's atmosphere, creating the fiery spectacles we see in the sky.
The Northern Taurids will become active on October 20th and are expected to peak overnight November 11th-12th, while the Southern Taurides have been active since September 20th and are expected to peak overnight November 4th-5th.
Stargazers could see up to 5 meteors per hour during each period of peak activity under ideal dark sky conditions, although the light was one Full moon will likely wipe out fainter meteors during the Southern Taurid peak. What does it make Taurid meteor showers What's truly exciting is their potential to occasionally produce magnificent fireballs that can briefly turn night into day as they flare in the sky after sunset.
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The southern and northern Taurides formed from the same highly scattered debris cloud. The periods when both are active are known to be associated with a significant increase in fireball activity American Meteor Society.
A fireball is a particularly bright meteor that even outshines the planet Venus in the night sky. They often leave distinctive traces and are formed when an object ranging in size from a few centimeters to several feet collides with our atmosphere.
Do you feel like photographing the night sky? Then take a look at our summaries best cameras And Lenses for astrophotographytogether with ours Guide to imaging fast-moving meteors and fireballs.
Editor's note: If you would like to capture an image of a fireball and share it with Space.com readers, please send your photos, comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.