The last of the bright celestial events for the calendar year will peak tonight through Nov. 12. It鈥檚 the Taurid Meteor Shower and while you won鈥檛 see a lot of meteors鈥� up to 20 per hour under ideal dark-sky conditions鈥� what you might see is a really bright fireball, the kind that can light up the night sky in an instant, according to Matt Benjamin, a planetary scientist and education program manager at CU-麻豆影院鈥檚 Fiske Planetarium.
鈥淲hat we have is the Taurid Meteor Shower that is gracing our skies," Benjamin said. "What does make the Taurid meteor shower quite spectacular is that it鈥檚 known for fireballs. The particulates and objects that enter our atmosphere burn up in a much more flamboyant and dazzling display and aren鈥檛 just light streaks that other meteor shows provide. These fireballs are quite dramatic - they really stand out. Some of these fireballs recently in the last few days have been recorded in Poland and Europe where they have completely lit up cities for about a second or so.鈥�
It is called Taurid because it emanates from the Constellation Taurus. Benjamin said the constellation is easy to find in the night sky. Just look for Orion鈥檚 Belt.
鈥淭he best thing to do is to look toward the eastern sky around 11 p.m. to around 3 to 4 a.m. and just look to the right of Orion," he said. "Most people know what it is - most easy to find. And there you will see the Constellation of Taurus and that鈥檚 where the meteors get their name from 鈥� the Taurids meaning that they come from the Constellation Taurus the Bull.鈥�
The strongest recent Taurid show happened in 2005 and according to the international Meteor Organization there鈥檚 a good chance a few fireball sightings may happen this year.
鈥淭his year it鈥檚 not an overly dense cloud, but what makes this a particularly good opportunity to see the meteors is that the moon is not bright and high in the sky," Benjamin said. "It鈥檚 going to be really helpful in being able to see these meteors and if you鈥檙e lucky enough you鈥檒l get to see a big fireball."
The Taurid meteors come from the Comet Encke 鈥� a periodic comet that orbits the sun once every 3.3 years.