Stargazers are in for a treat tonight with the Taurids meteor shower and new moon both falling Monday night.
This month’s new moon will allow for a special showing as its light will be less bright, allowing for the Taurids to shine in the night sky. Having begun its peak over the weekend with the last night falling on Monday, the Taurids will vault meteors and fireballs before our eyes.
The Taurids are known as one of the slowest meteor showers, but Space.com says they are also known to exhibit more fireballs which are known as abnormally bright meteors.
Also known as shooting stars, meteors are space rocks that enter earth’s atmosphere and flame out in a blaze of glory. Helping stargazers get a better view is the moon which is in its fully dark new moon phase tonight.
The Taurids, which are the debris from Comet Encke, produce five meteors an hour at their peak, according to Space.com. The website says the best time to view will be after midnight in clear weather. However, blustery showers across Scotland may obstruct the sky.
The UK Space Agency’s blog says: “With the new Moon bringing darker skies around the 13 November, the combination of the Taurids and Leonids meteor showers in the middle of this month provide a good chance to see meteors streak across our sky.
“The Taurids meteor shower is expected to peak around 12-13 November, as Earth passes through the fragments of rock and ice left behind from Comet Encke, a 5km (3 mile) wide object that orbits the Sun every 3 years. The more spread-out fragments of this comet mean this shower only produces a sprinkling of meteors, but their relatively slow speed – 27km (17 miles) per second – can make them easier to spot as they blaze across the night sky.”
If you miss the Taurids, there will soon be another spectacle. The Leonids meteor shower, which can see 10 meteors an hour, will peak starting Friday.
“The Leonids meteor shower is active for much of the month and peaks around 17-18 November when the fragments of Comet Tempel-Tuttle enter Earth’s atmosphere at over 70km (45 miles) per second,” repots the UK Space Agency.
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