A Month of Meteors
- Fiona Hamilton
- Nov 10
- 4 min read
Overview of Meteor Showers
Three meteor showers peak during November, and five are active in total. Meteors, or shooting stars, are often rocky debris from space that have entered our atmosphere at high speeds and burned up in a spectacular show of light. While we can usually only see meteors at night, they
happen throughout the day and year. Contrary to what you may think, the space between planets in our solar system really isn’t that empty; it’s extraordinarily spacious, but plenty of little bits of rock and dust exist all around, which are all that’s needed to create a ‘shooting star.’ Asteroids left over from the creation of moons and planets float throughout the solar system, and comets are always leaving trails of dust and debris on their extremely elliptical orbits. There is enough random stuff in the path Earth makes around the Sun that an estimated 48.5 tons of material collide with Earth every day, though most of it is burned up in the atmosphere before it can reach the surface.
Meteor showers occur when the Earth travels through an especially dense cloud of debris, usually caused by a comet. Meteor showers are usually named for the constellation they appear to originate from in the sky. During Parker School’s campout this year, many students stayed up to watch the Perseids meteor shower, which had just peaked. Meteors from the Perseids shower could be seen everywhere in the sky, but they all were seemingly racing away from the constellation Perseus. Many will likely remember when an especially bright meteor flashed across the sky, its bright light remaining for several seconds before fading away, unlike most meteors. These sorts of
meteors are often called fireballs. Fireballs are meteors with a magnitude of -4 or greater; some can even be seen during the day. Fireballs aren’t as uncommon as they may seem: thousands occur daily all over the planet. However, only about one will be seen every twenty hours of watching from a specific spot, making them a rare sight to see. Fireballs can also showcase different colors than smaller meteors, including reds and blues. Generally, a meteor will have to be of a magnitude greater than -8 if it has the chance to make it to the Earth as a meteorite.
Four major meteor showers are active during the month of November, making it a spectacular month for sky gazing, so long as the skies are clear. The Orionids, which peaked in October; the Southern Taurids, which peaked a week ago; the Northern Taurids, which peak tomorrow and the day after; and the Leonids are all meteor showers that can be observed at any time throughout November. There are also the Geminids, which are active throughout December, peaking early on.
About November’s Meteor Showers
First off are the Orionids. The Orionids peaked on October 21-22 and were active until November 7th. The Orionids originate from the constellation Orion and come from dust left behind by the comet Halley. Unfortunately, you can no longer see the Orionid meteor shower, but don’t feel like you’re missing out; only about twenty meteors are seen in an hour of this shower, even during the peak.
The Southern Taurids are still active, and technically peaked at the end of October. However, the Southern Taurids do have a fireball component that peaked on November 5th. Even though the peak is over, the Southern Taurids can still be seen until approximately November 20th. The Southern Taurids come from the dust cloud left behind by the comet Encke. The Taurids seem to originate from the constellation Taurus, the Bull. Don’t get too excited, though; they only cause about five meteors per hour, even during their peak.
The Northern Taurids also originate from Taurus and are associated with the comet Enecke; however, they occur at a slightly later date, lasting from October 20th to December 10th. The Northern Taurids peak on November 11th and 12th. The moon is about half full at this time, which can make it harder to spot meteors. The moon rises around midnight, so it would be better to stay up late rather than get up early to see these meteors, which only really cause an average of five meteors in an hour.
The Leonids started on November 6th and will last until the end of the month. They originate from
the constellation Leo and are associated with the Tempel-Tuttle comet, which isn’t widely known. They peak on the 16th and 17th of November with about 15 visible meteors an hour. The moon rises in the early morning, around 4:00, but is only 6% full.
The Geminids last from December 4th through to the 17th, but they are worth mentioning as it is one of the most active meteor showers of the year. During the peak of December 13-14, about 120 meteors can be seen in an hour–about two every minute. The moon will be about 30% full and rise at around 1:30 in the morning. The Geminids shower is known for producing bright and colored meteors and, like I said, is one of the strongest in the year. Unlike most notable meteor showers, the Geminids come from an asteroid called Phaethon, though it could be a ‘dead comet.’
Table of Important Current and Upcoming Meteor Showers
Name | Constellation | Active Period | Peak | Meteors/hour | Moonrise *During peak |
Orionids | Orion | Oct 2 - Nov 7 | Oct 21-22 | 20 | 6:00 am |
S. Taurids | Taurus | Sep 20 - Nov 20 | Nov 4-5 | 5 | 4:30 pm |
N. Taurids | Taurus | Oct 20 - Dec 10 | Nov 11-12 | 5 | 12:00 am |
Leonids | Leo | Nov 6 - Nov 30 | Nov 16-17 | 15 | 3:30 am |
Geminids | Gemini | Dec 4 - Dec 17 | Dec 13-14 | 120 | 1:30 am |
Sources
American Meteor Society
NASA
Time and Date
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