'Halloween Fireball' gets stronger in the sky, may peak tonight

Last night's Halloween night, due to the absence of a moon, many people saw a display of Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and the occasional Halloween fireball - actually the Taurids meteor shower.

The Taurids are usually much smaller than other meteor showers, and the "peak" night has only a few meteors per hour, but it is the longest-lasting meteor shower: over 2 months, while the meteor showers last. Large meteor showers last only a few days to a few weeks.

Location of meteor showers South Taurids (Southern Taurids) and North Taurids (Northern Taurids) - (Photo: Astronomy Now).

There are actually two Taurids meteor showers. The first is the South Taurids meteor shower , which takes place from September 10, lasts until November 20 . According to Earthsky, the "peak" of this year's South Taurids meteor shower is predicted by most astronomers to be around November 5-6, but the International Meteor Organization believes it to have occurred on the 10th. -10, while the American Meteor Society (DARK) claims it will peak November 2-3.

It is actually quite difficult to determine the peak night of the Taurids meteor shower because it is so sparse and the difference in the number of stars between nights is not as large as other meteor showers.

Meanwhile, the North Taurids meteor shower will fall from October 20 to December 10 , the expected peak time is November 11-12 night.

According to Inverse, the source of the Taurids meteor shower is believed to be comet 2P/Enke , which occurred when Earth passed through the dusty tail it left behind. However, this dusty area was disturbed by the giant Jupiter's impact and split, so only the South Taurids and the North Taurids appeared close to each other, with a slight difference in time and distance.

Because they are all visible in the sky at the end of October, the Taurids meteor shower is also known as "Halloween fireball". To find them, turn your eyes to the constellation Taurus (Taurus).