View larger. | Taurid fireball caught in bright moonlight by Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona. Photo taken at 3:38 a.m. on November 1, 2015. Thank you, Elliot!
The South and North Taurid meteor showers aren’t known for their large numbers of meteors, but they are known for having a high percentage of fireballs. There’ve been reports this weekend of some great Taurid fireball sightings, including the one from Eliot Herman in Tucson, above. Beautiful, yes? The peak of this shower is coming up this week. The South Taurids should produce their greatest number of meteors – and hence their greatest number of fireballs – between midnight and dawn on November 5, 2015. Try watching on the morning of November 4, too, and even on the mornings before that. The fireballs are flying!
How can you watch for Taurid fireballs? The good news is that the moon is now waning. Last quarter moon is early morning on November 3, according to clocks in North America. There will be a bright moon between midnight and dawn that morning, but the moon will be less and less obtrusive on the following mornings, leading up to the peak on November 5.
And remember these are fireballs we’re watching for. A little moonlight shouldn’t hinder them, as the photo above by Eliot Herman clearly shows.
In general, the South Taurids typically offer about 7 meteor per hour at their peak. However, the other Taurid shower – the North Taurids – always adds a few more meteors to the mix during the South Taurids’ peak night.
It’s the bright ones you really want to see, after all.
Taurid meteors radiate from the constellation Taurus.
The Taurid meteor stream consists of an extremely wide roadway of far-flung debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. When Earth travels through this belt of comet debris, bits and pieces of Comet 2P Encke smash into the Earth’s upper atmosphere to vaporize as rather slow-moving Taurid meteors (28 km/17 miles per second).
Apparently, the original Taurid stream had been perturbed by Jupiter into two branches: South and North Taurids.
Higher rates of Taurid fireballs might happen in seven-year cycles, and the last grand fireball display was in 2008. That could be good news for Taurid-watchers in 2015!
By the way, the first report I heard of Taurid fireballs this weekend was of one widely seen over Poland. If you click to this page, you’ll see some beautiful photos of that Taurid fireball, plus video.
Comet Encke, parent of the Taurid meteor shower. Image via Messenger
Bottom line: We’ve been hearing reports of Taurid fireballs! It’s time to start watching for them. What to expect from the South Taurid shower, and when to watch.
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1RmJLGg
View larger. | Taurid fireball caught in bright moonlight by Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona. Photo taken at 3:38 a.m. on November 1, 2015. Thank you, Elliot!
The South and North Taurid meteor showers aren’t known for their large numbers of meteors, but they are known for having a high percentage of fireballs. There’ve been reports this weekend of some great Taurid fireball sightings, including the one from Eliot Herman in Tucson, above. Beautiful, yes? The peak of this shower is coming up this week. The South Taurids should produce their greatest number of meteors – and hence their greatest number of fireballs – between midnight and dawn on November 5, 2015. Try watching on the morning of November 4, too, and even on the mornings before that. The fireballs are flying!
How can you watch for Taurid fireballs? The good news is that the moon is now waning. Last quarter moon is early morning on November 3, according to clocks in North America. There will be a bright moon between midnight and dawn that morning, but the moon will be less and less obtrusive on the following mornings, leading up to the peak on November 5.
And remember these are fireballs we’re watching for. A little moonlight shouldn’t hinder them, as the photo above by Eliot Herman clearly shows.
In general, the South Taurids typically offer about 7 meteor per hour at their peak. However, the other Taurid shower – the North Taurids – always adds a few more meteors to the mix during the South Taurids’ peak night.
It’s the bright ones you really want to see, after all.
Taurid meteors radiate from the constellation Taurus.
The Taurid meteor stream consists of an extremely wide roadway of far-flung debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. When Earth travels through this belt of comet debris, bits and pieces of Comet 2P Encke smash into the Earth’s upper atmosphere to vaporize as rather slow-moving Taurid meteors (28 km/17 miles per second).
Apparently, the original Taurid stream had been perturbed by Jupiter into two branches: South and North Taurids.
Higher rates of Taurid fireballs might happen in seven-year cycles, and the last grand fireball display was in 2008. That could be good news for Taurid-watchers in 2015!
By the way, the first report I heard of Taurid fireballs this weekend was of one widely seen over Poland. If you click to this page, you’ll see some beautiful photos of that Taurid fireball, plus video.
Comet Encke, parent of the Taurid meteor shower. Image via Messenger
Bottom line: We’ve been hearing reports of Taurid fireballs! It’s time to start watching for them. What to expect from the South Taurid shower, and when to watch.
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1RmJLGg
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