We’re especially blessed with meteors this month: the Orionids are still putting on their light show, and tonight another, smaller meteor shower peaks: the Taurids.
The sky should be dark enough tonight for good viewing, as long as you’re in an area without too much light pollution and the weather is clear. The Taurid meteor shower doesn’t have very many meteors per hour, but it’s known for fireballs—occasional bright shooting stars.
Most meteors come from particles the size of dust or grains of sand that burn up in our atmosphere. The fireballs come from bigger particles, the size of pebbles or marbles. The UK’s National Space Centre points out that the Taurid meteors come from two sources: “dust grains left behind by
Asteroid 2004 TG10 and debris from Comet 2P Encke.”
To watch the Taurids, look toward the constellation Taurus. You can find it by starting from Orion (the guy with the three stars in his belt) and following the line of the belt upward and to the right. The meteor shower will continue for a while, but the best time to watch is tonight after midnight.
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