The Northern Taurid meteor shower peaks this weekend, offering skywatchers the possibility to catch sensible fireballs — in the event that they’re lucky.
The height of the Northern Taurid meteor shower happens overnight on Nov. 11, with its best displays occurring within the hours after midnight. Given clear weather, this weekend needs to be especially ideal for viewing the Taurids because the moon is approaching its fully-dark recent moon phase on Monday (Nov. 13).
For the perfect possibilities of catching a meteor streaking across the sky, find the well-known “Seven Sisters” of the Pleaides star cluster within the Taurus constellation. The Northern Taurids’ radiant (the purpose from which the meteors appear to originate) is just under the Pleiades and above the “head” of Taurus, the bull.
In the event you aren’t acquainted with the Pleiades, first search for the intense, pale yellow Jupiter shining high to the east. From there, look to the lower left to search out a dense cluster of six or seven stars. Just under that will probably be a V-shaped group of stars on its side, opening to the left; these are the horns of the bull of the Taurus constellation.
Related: Meteor showers 2023: When is the subsequent one?
To maximise your possibilities of seeing a Taurid meteor, discover a dark viewing area situated away from as much light pollution as possible. Arrange a cushty seat, bundle up against the autumn evening chill and look skyward within the direction of Taurus or the Pleiades, allowing at the very least a half-hour or so in your eyes to regulate. At their most energetic, the Taurids should produce about five meteors per hour.
The Taurids are generally often known as one among the slowest meteor showers, but they’re also known to exhibit the next rate of “fireballs,” or abnormally vibrant meteors. “The Taurids are wealthy in fireballs, so if you happen to see a Taurid it may possibly be very sensible and it will knock your eyes out, but their rates absolutely suck,” NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com. “It’s simply the undeniable fact that when a Taurid appears it’s always big and vibrant.”
The Taurid meteor showers are caused when debris from the periodic Comet 2P/Encke burns up in our planet’s atmosphere. This comet has the shortest orbital period of any known comet at just 3.3 years.
Comet 2P/Encke was discovered in 1786 by French astronomers Pierre Méchain and Charles Messier, but gets its name from German astronomer Johann Franz Encke, who was the primary to predict the return of the comet after deducing that several sightings of comets in preceding years were all the identical object.
When you’re looking ahead to Taurids, it’s also possible to snag a close-up have a look at the Pleaides and the celebrities of the Taurus constellation by getting the proper gear with our guides on the best telescopes and best binoculars.
And whilst you’re at it, chances are you’ll need to try your hand at taking your personal night sky photos with our guides on how you can photograph meteors and meteor showers, in addition to our lists of best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography.
)