Overview
- Forecasts from INAOE, NASA and EarthSky call for up to about five meteors per hour at the Northern Taurids’ maximum between the nights of November 11 and 12.
- Viewing is favored late on Nov. 11 and into the early hours of Nov. 12 when Taurus rises higher, with dark, rural skies improving the odds.
- The Moon will be roughly 61% illuminated, which can wash out faint streaks, so patience and wide-field sky watching are advised.
- The Taurid streams originate from the Encke complex tied to comet 2P/Encke, with the Northern branch linked to debris that produces slow (~29 km/s), fireball-prone meteors.
- The Southern Taurids peaked around Nov. 4–5, and attention turns next to the Leonids in mid-November, which are expected to peak around Nov. 17–18 with roughly 10–15 meteors per hour under a thin waning crescent.