Taurid Meteor Shower Peaks With Southern and Northern Taurids Visible Across Globe

Southern Taurids set to peak on Nov. 6, followed by Northern Taurids live show a week later; meteor showers visible in clear skies, expected to offer particularly bright spectacle.

• The Southern and Northern Taurid meteor showers are set to peak in November, offering a bright celestial spectacle. The Southern Taurids peak on Nov. 6, while the Northern Taurids peak a week later on Nov. 13.
• Both meteor showers are visible globally, aside from Antarctica, but are best viewed in dark, remote locations away from city lights. The best viewing time is around midnight, although Taurids can be seen in both the evening and morning.
• The Southern Taurids originate from the remnants of comet Encke, a three-mile-wide chunk of ice visible from Earth every three years. The Northern Taurids, meanwhile, come from the debris left by asteroid 2004TG10, which shares a similar orbit around the Sun with comet Encke.
• These meteor showers are named Taurids as they appear to originate in the Taurus constellation. Visibility occurs between September and November when the constellation is above the horizon.
• The Taurid meteors are both slow and bright, known for their quality rather than quantity with around five per hour expected but can be as high as 10 per hour. They're also renowned for lasting longer than other meteor showers due to the size of the debris, making them easy to spot.

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The Messenger Newsweek Space.com