Ethan Miller/Getty Photographs
Lookup into the sky over the subsequent few nights and also you may catch a glimpse of a passing fireball.
The Southern Taurids meteor bathe is ready to peak Sunday and Monday, giving viewers an opportunity to see what are sometimes known as taking pictures stars hovering above our planet.
In line with the American Meteor Society, the Southern Taurids meteor bathe has been lively since September and is ready to achieve its peak exercise this week.
“Area rocks” and different materials hurtling by means of the cosmos — together with items of asteroids, comets and even the moon or Mars — are known as meteoroids. Meteoroids that enter Earth’s environment are known as meteors.
The Taurid meteor stream, which incorporates each the Southern Taurids and the Northern Taurids, comes from the Comet Enke, a 2.98 mile-wide physique that orbits the solar simply over each three years.
The Southern Taurids and the Northern Taurids, that are set to peak subsequent Saturday, account for a spike in fireball stories between September and November every year, the AMS stated.
“Fireball” — consider it or not — is a time period actually used by NASA to explain meteors that glow as brilliant or brighter than Venus.
If you wish to attempt to see a Taurid fireball this week, Space.com recommends finding a darkish viewing level removed from mild air pollution and scanning the evening sky surrounding Jupiter.
And be affected person: whereas the Taurids can churn out some terribly brilliant fireballs, they solely produce about 5 meteors per hour at most.