Northern Taurid meteor shower peaks overnight Nov. 11-12

The Northern Taurid meteor shower reaches peak activity overnight on Nov. 11-12, offering a chance to see fireballs streak across the night sky.

Viewing conditions

The best time to view the meteor shower is Wednesday night into early Thursday morning, according to CNN. Peak activity occurs at 1 p.m. ET Thursday, according to NASA projections cited by CNN. The moon will be 4%-lit, creating dark skies for viewing.

"The observing conditions should be very good," said Mark Boslough, a research professor in the department of Earth and planetary sciences at the University of New Mexico. "There’s no moonlight to really interfere with getting to see these."

What to expect

The Northern Taurids are known for producing fireballs that can be brighter than Venus. These fireballs arise from larger debris ranging in size from a marble to a small boulder. They may leave behind shining lines of ionized air molecules that disappear after a few seconds, while others produce smoke trails of cloudlike vapor that remain in the air for minutes.

The Northern Taurids typically create five meteors per hour. When they overlap with the Southern Taurids, which end November 12, that number doubles.

How to watch

To watch the meteor shower, find somewhere dark and let your eyes adjust for roughly half an hour, without looking at any bright screens. The bright streaks will seem to emerge from the Taurus constellation, but they can be seen anywhere in the sky.

"One of the interesting things about the Taurid meteor shower is that it does produce these larger objects," Boslough said. "You don’t necessarily have to look at the constellation — they radiate out of the constellation, but you can see them anywhere in the sky."

Why it matters

The Northern Taurid meteor shower occurs annually as Earth passes through debris left by an asteroid known as 2004 TG10. Scientists think the asteroid was initially part of a much larger object that broke up roughly 20,000 years ago and created the Encke Complex. Boslough’s research team observes meteor showers to measure the risk of objects that could hit Earth. He emphasized that while researchers are looking into the potential for hazardous projectiles, this monitoring is out of "due diligence" rather than imminent concern that one will strike the planet.

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Sources

• cnn.com: How to catch the Northern Taurid meteor shower tonight | CNN
• space.com: Don't miss the Northern Taurid meteor shower peak overning on Nov. 11-12 — Here's what you need to know | Space

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.