Each autumn, as the nights lengthen and the air cools, Earth passes through a loose river of dust left behind by the comet Encke, and for a few weeks in November the Taurid meteor shower draws the eyes of anyone willing to stand outside after dark. Its ordinary display is modest, but the stream carries rare large fragments that occasionally blaze as fireballs, reminding us that even faded comets keep leaving traces in our skies. Between Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, under a moon that has just passed new, the sky offers a quiet invitation to witness a remnant of an old wanderer that will not return until
Taurid Meteor Shower Peaks Early November With Colorful Fireballs Visible Overnight
A bright, yellowish meteor sliding lazily away from the Pleiades
Mark
Eight to twelve meteors an hour doesn't sound like much. Why write about it?
Mimi
Because of the fireballs. The piece says that without them this would be a minor shower. The stream carries larger fragments than most comets shed, so a few meteors come out unusually bright.
Mark
And they're slow?
Mimi
The slowest of the major showers, about 30 km per second. That's why they seem to slide lazily rather than flash.
Luke
Worth noting that 8 to 12 per hour is a rough estimate under dark skies. Your own count depends on where you stand.
Mark
What about the two peaks?
Mimi
Southern Taurids peak Nov. 5, Northern on Nov. 12, per the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's 2024 handbook. They overlap, so the whole window is good.
Luke
The article doesn't promise a fireball, either. It says you might see one, and they can come anytime over several weeks.
Mark
And the moon helps?
Mimi
It was new Nov. 1, and even by Nov. 12 it sets about 2:30 a.m., leaving the rest of the night dark.
Luke
That's the moon. Weather and your local light pollution are the unknowns nobody can forecast from this piece.
El Pulso
- The Taurid shower arrives with modest numbers, roughly 8 to 12 meteors per hour, so its appeal rests on the chance of a sudden bright fireball.
- Two overlapping streams, the Southern Taurids peaking Nov. 5 and the Northern Taurids peaking Nov. 12, keep the sky active for weeks.
- The radiant climbs high soon after midnight, so watchers can start early and stay out through the night without waiting for dawn.
- A new moon on Nov. 1 and a moon setting early in the window leave the skies dark, giving every meteor its best chance to be seen.
- Slow at about 30 km per second, Taurids streak in yellow, orange, green, red or blue, and the next comet return is not until February 2027.
Each autumn, as the nights lengthen and the air cools, Earth passes through a loose river of dust left behind by the comet Encke, and for a few weeks in November the Taurid meteor shower draws the eyes of anyone willing to stand outside after dark. Its ordinary display is modest, but the stream carries rare large fragments that occasionally blaze as fireballs, reminding us that even faded comets keep leaving traces in our skies. Between Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, under a moon that has just passed new, the sky offers a quiet invitation to witness a remnant of an old wanderer that will not return until 2027.
For the next week or so, anyone standing outside in the overnight hours might catch a bright, colorful streak and realize they are looking at a piece of a comet. The Taurid meteor shower returns every year between mid-October and mid-November, and its broad peak, from Nov. 5 through Nov. 12, offers the best viewing.
The numbers are modest, roughly 8 to 12 meteors per hour under dark skies. Without the chance of fireballs, this would be considered a minor shower of limited interest, but the possibility of a brilliant burst keeps it worth watching.
Unlike most showers, the Taurids can be enjoyed all night. Their radiant, the point in the sky the meteors seem to radiate from, sits high soon after midnight, and it is named for Taurus the Bull. The moon is cooperating too: new on Nov. 1, it sets early enough to leave the later hours dark.
The Taurids are really two showers that overlap. The Southern Taurids peak around Nov. 5 and the Northern Taurids about a week later, on Nov. 12, both drifting through the sky near the Pleiades. The debris comes from periodic comet Encke, last seen in October 2023 and due back in February 2027. The meteors strike Earth slowly, about 30 km per second, and show yellow most often, with orange, green, red and blue also recorded. Because the stream holds larger fragments than most, it sometimes produces the bright fireballs known as Halloween fireballs, though they can appear at any time over several weeks.
The advice is simple: if a bright, yellowish meteor drifts lazily away from the Pleiades, it is almost certainly a Taurid.
For the next week or so, anyone standing outside in the overnight hours might catch a bright, colorful streak and be looking at a piece of a comet. The Taurid meteor shower comes back every year between the middle of October and the middle of November, and the stretch from Nov. 5 through Nov. 12 is when it reaches a broad maximum and offers the best viewing.
The numbers are modest. Under dark skies, roughly 8 to 12 meteors per hour might be seen during that window. Space.com's preview notes that without the chance of fireballs, this would be regarded as a minor shower of limited interest.
Timing is unusual. Most showers are best after midnight, because their radiants, the apparent points the meteors seem to spring from, sit highest just before dawn. The Taurid radiant is highest soon after midnight, so the shower can be watched all night. It takes its name from Taurus, the Bull, which hangs low in the east a couple of hours after sundown and stands almost directly overhead by about 1:30 a.m. The higher the radiant, the more meteors can be seen coming from it. The radiant regions also climb the eastern sky through the evening, so no post-midnight vigil is required.
The moon is cooperating. It was new on Nov. 1. By Nov. 7 it will stay up until around 9:40 p.m. local time, and by the morning of Nov. 12 it will remain in the sky until about 2:30 a.m., leaving the rest of the night dark.
The Taurids are really two showers. The Northern and Southern Taurids overlap, and each runs for many weeks. The article describes this split as what happens to a meteor stream as it ages. According to Margaret Campbell-Brown and Peter Brown, writing in the 2024 Observer's Handbook of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, the Southern Taurids peak on Nov. 5 and the Northern Taurids a week later, on Nov. 12. Over the weeks, the large, diffuse radiants drift from southeastern Pisces across southern Aries to well east of the Pleiades. Both radiants lie just south of that star cluster during the peak.
The debris comes from periodic comet Encke, which last passed through the inner solar system in October 2023 and is expected back in February 2027. The Taurids are the slowest of any major shower, striking Earth at only about 19 miles (30 km) per second. Yellow is the dominant color, but orange, green, red and blue meteors have all been recorded. The stream also holds noticeably larger fragments than those shed by other comets, which is why this rather old stream now and then produces unusually bright meteors known as fireballs. Some are called Halloween fireballs, though they can show up at any point over several weeks, not only on Halloween.
So the practical advice is simple. If you see a bright, yellowish meteor sliding lazily away from the Pleiades, it is almost certainly a Taurid. The peak runs through Nov. 12, and Encke itself returns in 2027.
Citas Notables
The Southern Taurids reach maximum on Nov. 5 and the Northern Taurids peak a week later, on Nov. 12.— Margaret Campbell-Brown and Peter Brown, Observer's Handbook 2024 of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (paraphrased)
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