The Southern Taurid meteor shower, known for its swarm of bright fireballs shooting through the night sky, is expected to peak Tuesday and Wednesday nights as the Earth passes through dust left by a comet.
The meteor shower is active between September and November when debris left in the wake of the Comet Encke falls into the Earth's atmosphere at high speeds, according to the American by Jake Thomas
Washington DC (UPI) Nov 4, 2025
The Southern Taurid meteor shower, known for its swarm of bright fireballs shooting through the night sky, is expected to peak Tuesday and Wednesday nights as the Earth passes through dust left by a comet.
The meteor shower is active between September and November when debris left in the wake of the Comet Encke falls into the Earth's atmosphere at high speeds, according to the American Meteor Society.
The shower will become most active at the same time the Northern Taurids and Orionids are also present, increasing the likelihood of fireballs as cosmic debris burns up in the Earth's atmosphere, according to the association.
Fireballs produced by the Southern Taurids "can momentarily turn night to day as they flare to life in the night sky," according to Space.com.
Because 2025 is a "swarm year," when Earth passes through a part of Encke's tail with a large amount of fragments, up to 10 bright meteors may be visible each hour.
"Normal Taurid particles are usually the size of pea gravel with a few larger particles mixed in," American Meteor Society expert Robert Lunsford told Space.com in an email.
"The swarm particles are only the size of baseballs up to basketballs, but will appear as fireballs from the ground instead of normal meteors."
The best time to watch the shower is around midnight, according to EarthSky.
However, the light from a nearly full moon might interfere with the show.
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