Best times to see the Taurid meteor shower

An astronomical phenomenon may grace the night sky with its presence on Election Day.

The Taurid meteor shower will be visible starting at midnight on Tuesday, according to the American Meteorological Society.

Every year from September to November, the Earth passes through a vast stream of debris left by comets. When the comet’s dust hits Earth’s atmosphere at 65,000 miles per hour, it burns up and creates a meteor shower, according to NASA.

The Taurid meteor shower was caused by Comet Encke, one of the largest comets in the solar system, Bill Cooke, head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office, told ABC News. He added that Encke was just part of a comet that broke apart about 10,000 years ago and formed several smaller objects.

The meteor shower has two branches: the Northern Taurus Mountains and the Southern Taurus Mountains.

Southern Taurus Mountains are the first branch to reach the Earth’s atmosphere. The application, which became active on September 23 this year, is expected to last until December 8.

Visibility for the Southern Taurus is expected to be at its best on Monday and Tuesday, as the moon will be only 11% full as the meteor display is expected to peak, according to AMS.

Maximum activity in the Northern Taurus Mountains will begin in about a week. The Northern Taurus Mountains are expected to reach their peak on November 11 and November 12. However, the moon will be approximately 79% full, hampering visibility, according to AMS.

The Northern Taurus Mountains became active on October 13 and is expected to last until December 2.

According to the AMS, both arms of the Taurids are rich in fireballs, typically leading to reports of increased numbers of fireballs from September through November.

According to NASA, a “swarm” of fireballs could occur when Earth encounters pebble-sized fragments from the comet.

The next swarm is expected to emerge in November 2025, Cooke said.

“What makes them so special is that Taurids are large,” Cooke said. “These are large pieces of debris and they produce very spectacular fireballs.”

Cooke said the Taurids appear to come from the constellation Taurus.

Usually the best time to see them is midnight, Cooke said, because the constellation Taurus is high in the sky at the time.

But he added: “You don’t want to look at Taurus, because the meteors coming from there will be faint and with short trains.”

In addition, Taurids can be seen from almost anywhere on Earth except the South Pole.

The best way to see them is to get as far away from light pollution as possible and look upright while lying on your back, Cooke said. Meteors will appear all over the night sky.

Shawn Dahl, coordinator of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, told ABC News that patience is key when searching for shooting stars.

“Sometimes the best plan is to take time to look at the sky for a few hours hoping to see them,” Dahl said.

Although the Tauruses are considered a long-lasting meteor shower, even at maximum activity they rarely produce more than five shower members per hour, according to NASA.

“Most years, showers are weak and only a few Taurid meteors can be seen each night,” according to NASA. “In other years, Taurids may perform.”

The Taurids are one of only two meteor showers (the other being the Geminids) that can produce meteors, Cooke said.

“We call a meteor a shooting star,” he explained. “If something hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite.”

Most meteors burn up before entering the atmosphere, but Taurids linger because they move relatively slowly once they enter the atmosphere, Cooke said.

The Taurids are part of a consortium of spectacular astronomical events that have occurred in recent months.

The Orionid meteor shower occurred last month, and T Coronae Borealis, also known as the “Flaming Star”, is expected to erupt violently in the near future.

The Geminids, which can sometimes produce up to 100 meteors per hour, will occur in mid-December.

“If you look at the sky for an hour during the peak of the meteor shower, that’s a good opportunity to see at least a nice, streaky, fast meteor,” Dahl said of the Geminids.

Additionally, the current solar cycle is about to reach its peak, which could lead to more frequent and more widespread Northern Lights activity.