The Southern Taurids meteor shower began on September 20 and will continue until November 20, 2026, giving sky enthusiasts a nearly two-month opportunity to observe relatively slow, but potentially very bright, meteors.
Hot Topics
The human body ages in leaps and bounds Scientists identify two critical ages
From your phone screen to your data How do malicious apps sneak in and steal your secrets?
This shower gains its importance from its ability to produce "fireballs"; these are very bright meteors that appear as bright flashes as they burn up in the atmosphere.
According to the American Meteor Society, the Southern Taurid shower is expected to produce about 5 meteors per hour at its peak activity under ideal viewing conditions, and the chance of seeing meteors can increase when it overlaps with the Northern Taurid in late October and early November.
The Southern Taurid meteor shower moves at an average speed of about 27 kilometers per second, which is relatively slow compared to other meteor showers, which may make some of them more visible and sometimes allow bright trails to appear behind them.
The observation of this comet dates back to the eighteenth century; it was discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchin in 1786, then observed by Caroline Herschel in 1795 and Jean-Louis Pons in 1805, then Johann Franz Encke calculated its orbit and predicted its return, and the comet was named after him.
When debris particles enter Earth's atmosphere at high speeds, they heat up and glow as meteors. The Taurid shower appears to be more complex than a single, simple stream, as it includes components associated with cometary debris, resulting in a longer period of activity and a less intense peak than some other meteor showers.
When and where can it be seen?
The Southern Taurid can be observed from both hemispheres, and the meteor appears to the observer to come from an area in the constellation Taurus, near the star Aldebaran and the Pleiades cluster.
This area gradually rises in the sky during the evening and is in the best position to observe near midnight, so the viewer does not need to direct his gaze to a specific point; meteors may appear in different parts of the sky.
Tags:
science