Throughout the entire month of November, observers from all over the world will be able to see a cluster of fireballs known as the Taurids in the night sky.
This month, the Taurid "swarm" is still active, causing bright meteors often referred to as fireballs to be visible in the night sky all over the world.
The Southern Taurids reached their peak last week, but the show is far from over. Fireball sightings continued into the first week of November. The Northern Taurids, one of the two streams that make up the Taurid meteor shower, are expected to reach their peak on Saturday.
Robert Lunsford, the American Meteor Society's fireball report coordinator, said that There is a chance that one of the five meteors produced by the Taurids will be a fireball, which is more vibrant than any planet or star in the sky. The Taurids only produce five meteors per hour at their peak. They are quite spectacular because only the moon and sun are brighter than the typical fireballs.
Southern and Northern Taurids
The Northern Taurids are active from roughly October 13 to December 2, while the Southern Taurids are active from roughly September 23 to November 12. Especially in years with Taurid swarms like this one, there may be an increase in fireballs when the two showers are active at the same time.
When Earth is closest to the middle of each stream, the showers attain their respective peaks. Jupiter forms the swarm when it is close enough to the streams to pull on them with its gravity. This causes debris to condense and spark an increase in fireballs. The American Meteor Society predicted that this would occur once more in 2022, seven years after it last occurred in 2015 and before that in 2008.
Mike Hankey, the operations manager for the American Meteor Society, said that it is a spectacular shower that generates lots of fireballs. It has always been known for its fireballs, and the data show a clear increase in this month's number of fireballs every day. Hankey is the creator of the fireball tracking program under the American Meteor Society.
NASA claims that because the Taurid meteors are frequently visible in the night sky from mid-October to mid-November, they are also known as "Halloween Fireballs."
Read also: Astronomers Say Eclipse Season to Set After Autumn's First Meteor Shower
Fireballs from Taurus
The Taurids, according to ABC30, comes from the position of the Taurus constellation, though it's best to avoid looking there because the meteors' trails are the shortest there. Since fireballs can outshine most objects in the night sky, they won't be bothered by the waning of the bright full moon on November 8 either. Fireballs will be visible everywhere in the sky.
The comet Encke, because it has the shortest orbit of any significant comet in our solar system at just over three years, is the source of both the Southern and Northern Taurids. Encke is a significant producer of meteoroids because it continuously leaves a new trail of debris as it orbits Earth. It takes the Earth several weeks to go through the meteor shower because the strain is so great. October 2023 will see the return of Comet Encke.
Seeing a fireball
Taurid meteors typically move slowly but, depending on their size, can occasionally be quite bright. According to NASA, meteors bigger than a meter, or 3.3 feet across, typically move slowly and shine brightest.
While most meteors are only visible for a millisecond, fireballs can be seen crossing the sky for several seconds. Red, orange, or yellow fireballs are frequently described as being particularly colorful.
Fireballs, according to Lunsford, are not usually visible, but meteors are present every night year-round. Viewing fireballs is an inexpensive activity, even telescopes are unnecessary. the human vision is enough to observe this phenomenon, CNN reports.
Related article: Dust Off Your Telescopes! October Night Skies will Show Off Two Meteor Showers, One Full Moon
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