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It’s almost time to get out your camping chair and thermos of tea, as the night sky will be filled with a stunning shower of ‘fireball’ meteors tonight.
The Taurid meteor shower will reach its peak this evening, with up to five meteors visible every hour from the UK.
As Earth passes through the debris cloud left by asteroid 2004 TG10, meteorites up to three feet (1 meter) long will be visible burning up in Earth’s atmosphere.
These particularly slow-moving shooting stars will be visible until December 10 in the Northern Hemisphere, but will be more numerous from midnight tonight until the early hours of Monday morning.
Best of all, experts say no special equipment will be needed to view this impressive display, as meteors are best seen with the naked eye.
Tonight the Taurid meteor shower will reach its peak. From the Pleiades constellation, viewers should be able to see the bright meteor moving relatively slowly
Meteor showers get their name from the region of the sky from which they appear to emerge. In this case he is a Taurus
Dr Minjae Kim, a research fellow at the University of Warwick, told MailOnline: ‘The best time to view this shower is November 13, 2023, at 00:21, when the Moon will not interfere.’ You don’t even need any equipment like telescopes or binoculars.
“It’s visible all over the world, as long as the sky is clear.” No matter where you are on Earth, with Antarctica being the only exception, Taurids meteor showers grace the skies of almost every corner of our planet.
To find Taurus, look south toward the constellation Taurus from which shooting stars appear, giving it its name.
Dr. Kim adds that the Taurids shower is unique because of its long display, which lasts through October and November, and also because it comes in two streams.
“The northern eruptions, which peak this weekend, are caused by Earth passing through the remains of the eccentric asteroid 2004 TG10,” Dr. Kim said.
“In contrast, the southern eruptions, which peaked between November 4 and 6, are the result of our planet passing through debris left by the short-period comet Enki.”
Dr. Greg Brown, an astronomer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, explains that the meteor shower occurs at the same time every year due to predictable patterns of space debris.
“When Earth passes through the cloud of debris left behind by a comet or asteroid in our solar system, pieces of rock and dust will be swept away, crashing into our atmosphere and producing a bright streak of light in our sky: a meteorite,” he told MailOnline.
“These meteor showers occur at fairly predictable times in our year, and they appear to originate from a specific part of our sky based on the direction the Earth is heading at that time.”
The Taurid shower and Comet Encke are believed to have once been part of a much larger comet that slowly split into pieces over the past 20,000 to 30,000 years.
These debris clouds stay at the same point in Earth’s orbit, which means meteor showers always appear to come from the same place in the night sky.
This will be a slow year for the Taurus meteor shower, but the meteors should be bright enough to be seen clearly with the naked eye.
The meteors seen during tonight’s Taurus shower are particularly slow-moving and bright, making them easy to see with the naked eye.
Most are classified as “fireballs,” meaning they appear brighter than Venus — the brightest thing in the night sky after the Moon.
Although they may appear to be moving slowly to us, the meteors are actually moving at 17 miles per second (27 km/s), or 65,000 mph (104,607 km/h).
Unfortunately, Dr. Brown says tonight will not be a particularly good year for the Taurus meteor shower compared to other showers in the past.
He told MailOnline: ‘This shower is not particularly strong, with only around 5 meteors per hour at its peak, which can be significantly reduced by your observing conditions.’
To get the best view of meteors, you should find a place that has as little artificial light as possible because this will make it easier to spot meteors.
Tonight, the peak of rainfall aligns exactly with the arrival of the new moon, meaning there will be no light to interfere with the view.
Avoid directing any lights into your eyes, including looking at your phone, and give your eyes at least half an hour to adjust to the dark.
“To see them, head to a place with a low horizon, with no trees or buildings in the way, ideally after midnight to increase your chances,” Dr Brown said.
“Fill your view with the sky and wait.” There is no point in trying to use a telescope or binoculars because their vision is so small.
With the weather expected to be very cold during peak showers, remember to pack warm clothes because you may be waiting a long time to see the meteors.
The Met Office is forecasting a foggy start to Sunday, but this should clear by the evening.
Heavy rain and stormy showers are expected in the evening, but are expected to clear before midnight with clear skies expected over much of the South East and Midlands.
The Taurus meteor shower will be active until December 10, but there will be significantly fewer meteors to see. However, there will be three more meteor showers this year to see.
If you missed out on the Taurid meteor shower tonight, don’t worry, as there are three more meteor showers you can spot before the end of the year.
Between November 17 and 18, the Leonids will reach their peak activity, followed by the Geminid between December 13 and 14.
Finally, concluding the stargazing year, the Ursids meteor shower will peak between December 21 and 22.
Throughout the entire year, those with their eyes on the sky may also be able to spot sporadic meteors.
These random pieces of space debris are mostly made of material from asteroids, which are large pieces of rock, not from icy comets.
They can appear from any direction in the night sky, and generally pass through the atmosphere at a rate of one every ten minutes.
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