November Astronomical Calendar Features Trio of Meteor Showers

Three different meteor showers and a supermoon will highlight the November night skies, making this one of the best months of the year to head outside and gaze upwards. Here is a look at the top November celestial events to put on your calendar now.

Taurid Meteor Showers - Early November

A pair of meteor showers will light up the dark skies during the first half of the month. The Taurids are known for their history of sending exceptionally bright meteors across the sky. Most meteor showers tend to peak in one or two nights. However, the Taurids stretch out over a period of two weeks, providing plenty of opportunities to catch their wonder. The elongated viewing period also gives you more chances to coincide your viewing with better weather conditions. Clear skies deliver the best odds to observe the shows.

While the shower is known collectively as the Taurids, they are actually two separate showers, known as the Northern Taurids and the Southern Taurids. These shows combine for about five meteors per hour. What they lack in volume, they make up for in brightness. The full moon happens to coincide with the beginning of these showers this year. However, some of the meteors may be bright enough to even outshine the moon if you look carefully.

The first meteor stream comes from the dust left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10. The second stream is the byproduct of debris left from Comet 2P Encke. Although the meteors will appear to radiate from the Taurus, stargazers will notice them at any spot in the sky.