Another astronomical event could be visible in the coming nights for stargazers across the globe.
The Northern Taurids could send streaks of shooting stars into the night sky as it reaches peak activity on Monday and Tuesday, according to the American Meteorology Society.
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Where does the Taurid meteor shower originate from?
Every year from September to November, the Earth passes through a broad stream of debris left by Comet Encke, one of the biggest comets in the solar system, Bill Cooke, lead of NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office, told ABC News. Encke itself is just a fragment of a comet that broke up about 10,000 years ago and produced several smaller objects, he said.
When the dust from Comet Encke hits the Earth’s atmosphere at 65,000 mph, it burns up and creates the Taurid meteor shower, according to NASA.
The first of the two branches, the Southern Taurids, peaked from Nov. 4 to Nov. 5 and is expected to remain active through Dec. 8, according to AMS. The Northern Taurids are forecast to reman active until Dec. 2.
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How to see the Taurid meteor shower
The Taurids are visible from almost everywhere on Earth, other than the South Pole, according to astronomy experts.
Midnight tends to be the best time to see Taurids because the constellation Taurus is high in the sky at that time, Cooke said.
Taurids appear to originate from the constellation c, but Cooke recommended looking elsewhere in the sky to see the full scope of the shooting stars.
“You don’t want to look at Taurus, because the meteors coming from there will have short trains and be faint,” Cooke said.
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Stargazers should get as far away from light pollution as possible and look straight up while lying flat on their backs, Cooke said, adding that the meteors will appear all over the night sky.
Visibility, however, may be hampered due to the brightness of the moon, which will be 79% full, according to AMS.
Patience is key when tracking the Taurids, according to astronomy experts. Taurids are considered a long-lasting meteor shower due to the length of time they are active, but they rarely produce more than five showers per hour, even at maximum activity, according to NASA.
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“Most years the shower is weak, and only a few Taurid meteors can be seen each night,” according to NASA. “Other years, the Taurids can put on a show.”
What makes the Taurids unique
Both branches of Taurids are rich in fireballs and can often lead to an increase in the number of fireball reports from September through November, according to AMS.
“What makes them so special is the Taurids are big,” Cooke said. “They’re big pieces of debris and they produce these very spectacular fireballs.”
Next year may be rich in Taurid activity. A “swarm” of fireballs — when the Earth runs into a group of pebble-sized fragments from the comet — is expected to occur in 2025, Cooke said.
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The Taurids are also one of two meteor showers — the other being Geminids — that can produce meteorites, Cooke said. While most meteors burn up before they are able to enter the atmosphere, the Taurids can linger because they are moving relatively slowly as they enter Earth’s atmosphere, Cooke said.
“We call a meteor a shooting star,” he explained. “If anything makes it to the ground, it’s called a meteorite.”
