Skywatchers will have a chance to see one of the best meteor showers of the year. The Taurid meteor shower will be visible throughout the coming week, with a possibility of bright meteors being visible as well. Here’s what you need to know so you don’t miss out.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration reports that the peak hours for viewing the annual Taurid meteor shower in New England will be in the early hours of Saturday morning.
This weekend’s event is set to be among the most “fireball-centric,” according to WBZ Radio. After midnight, Taurus will be higher in the sky and the moon’s brightness will overtake the dimmer meteor lights. Each autumn between September and November, the Earth passes through a string of debris left behind by Comet Encke, something that does a full orbit of the sun every 3.3 years, WBZ Radio reports.
According to NASA, the remaining dust off the comet connects with the Earth’s atmosphere at around 65,000 miles per hour and burns up, causing the Taurid meteor shower.
This year may result in a more active Taurid shower as scientists say a “Taurid swarm” of pebble-sized pieces from the comet brighten up the Earth’s atmosphere as they burn up.
Taurid Meteor Shower
The Taurids are a rather interesting meteor shower – think of them as an all or nothing event. Peaking Friday night, the Taurids are typically one of the most sparse showers of the year. You would be lucky to see a handful each hour. BUT, the Taurids have been dubbed the “Halloween Fireballs” due to how bright and spectacular they can be.
They appear brighter than the typical meteor because the Taurids tend to be slightly larger and therefore travel farther through the Earth’s atmosphere.
There is reason to hope that this year, we could encounter a Taurid “swarm” or an uptick in the number of meteors. . . scientists have noticed that every seven years we tend to hit a peak in Taurid activity. The last such peak was in 2015, and here we are seven years later in 2022. One other important note regarding the Taurids: There are typically two peaks as the Earth passes through two separate streams over the next week or so. Peak number one is tonight and then a second peak is expected around Nov. 12. In between the two peaks (over the next week) there could be stragglers, so really you could see a shooting star just about any night in the next seven days or so.
One other important note regarding the Taurids: There are typically two peaks as the Earth passes through two separate streams over the next week or so. Peak number one is tonight and then a second peak is expected around Nov. 12. In between the two peaks (over the next week) there could be stragglers, so really you could see a shooting star just about any night in the next seven days or so.
There really is no secret for how to see meteor showers. The best advice is just to find the darkest spot possible, away from city and artificial lights. Also, find a spot with as much of a view of the sky as possible without any obstructions. And, finally, meteor showers are always best late at night, typically midnight or later.
One complicating factor? The Moon. The brightness of the Moon will take away from some of the vividness of the meteors. The Moon will set just after 4 a.m. Saturday morning, so ultimately the best time to view the show might be between about 4:15 a.m. and dawn on Saturday.
One last thought: There is a chance that you could see a few meteors during the Lunar Eclipse next Tuesday morning! In fact, given that the Moon will be completely within the Earth’s shadow, the sky will be quite dark in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday.
The Taurid meteor shower, which runs annually between September and December, will peak over Charleston the night of Nov. 4 and into the morning of Nov. 5
Taurid is a long-running, low-rate meteor shower that produces about five to ten meteors per hour. But, Storm Team 2 Meteorologist Olivia Lawrence said it is an unusual shower because it consists of two separate streams.
The first stream is produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10, and the second is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke.