Annual meteor showers are always high points of the year, but in fall, we are treated to a two-for-one deal that runs for months. Called the Taurids, these showers dazzle the night sky throughout the season and bring an elevated chance of extrabright meteors—fireballs—to help chase the darkening days away.
The first leg of this epic meteor show is the Southern Taurid shower, which began on September 20 and is expected to last through November 20. Peak fireball activity is predicted to occur around the night of November 4 to 5—just after Halloween.
Meteors, also known as shooting stars, are the visible remnants of bits of debris falling from an asteroid or comet. These pieces burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere, creating a brilliant streak of light. The source of dust and debris that makes up the Southern Taurids is Comet 2P/Encke, a relatively small comet that measures about 2.98 miles (4.8 kilometers) wide, according to NASA.
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This year just 22 percent of the moon will be lit on November 4 to 5, providing “generally favorable” viewing conditions for the Southern Taurids’ peak, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS).
The Southern Taurids’ sister shower, the Northern Taurids, will begin on October 20, overlap with the Southern Taurids for a few weeks and peak on the night of November 11 to 12, according to the AMS.
You can catch the Taurids without any fancy equipment. Go outside and find a safe location with minimal light pollution and a clear view of the sky. Give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness and look up. The showers are named after the constellation Taurus, but the shooting stars can show up near other constellations, too.
“The best time to look for Taurids is after midnight, when Taurus is high in the sky,” according to NASA, “and when the sky is dark and clear, with no moonlight to mask the fainter meteors.”