Taurids meteor shower in the sky of Slovenia in 2015 – Photo: Shutterstock
The Taurids and Leonids meteor showers will light up the night sky across many countries this November.
The Taurids meteor shower consists of two smaller meteor showers: the Southern Taurids and the Northern Taurids. Both have the same origin in the region of the Taurus constellation and their peak times are very close.
According to astronomy information page earth sky, it is estimated that the southern Taurids meteor shower will peak on November 6, while the northern Taurids will peak a week later, on November 13. However, from early November onwards, if you’re lucky you can still see meteor lines in the night sky.
Both the Southern Taurids and Northern Taurids meteor showers produce about 5 meteors per hour. If they appear simultaneously, viewers may see up to 10 meteors per hour.
The ideal conditions for observing meteor showers are in dark, moonless skies.
Page earth sky The November crescent moon will rise near the top of the southern Taurids on November 5. Moonlight after midnight and before dawn will interfere with meteor viewing. Therefore, the best time to see meteors this time is midnight, especially from November 13 onwards.
Taurids meteors move slowly but are sometimes very bright. During these rains sometimes extremely bright streaks appear like “balls of fire”. Such “fireballs” appeared in recent Torrid showers that occurred in 2008, 2015 or 2022.
Taurids meteor shower in European sky – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
The Leonids meteor shower occurs right after the Taurids meteor shower. The Leonids meteor shower is caused by dust particles left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865.
The best time to see the Leonids meteor shower in 2023 is from the night of November 17 to the morning of November 18. The remaining bright streaks of the Leonids meteor shower remain visible until early December.
This year, the peak of the Leonids meteor shower is not affected by moonlight, so it is quite convenient to observe it. Under ideal conditions, you can count 10 – 15 Leonids meteors per hour.
The Leonids meteor shower is quite famous for turning into meteor storms. During the peak 15-minute period on the morning of November 17, 1966, thousands of meteors were recorded every minute. The Leonids meteor storm usually repeats every 33–34 years.
The most recent Leonids meteor storm occurred in 2001, with hundreds of meteors visible every hour.
(TagstoTranslate)Meteor Shower(T)Meteor(T)November(T)Astronomy
