Taurid Meteor Shower 2024: When & How to Watch In UK

Don’t miss the chance to see a bright and colourful show of shooting stars and fireballs – the annual Taurids meteor shower, sometimes called the “Halloween fireballs” continues right now, with the peak of one of the two streams this year falling on 11-12 November.

What Is Known About the Taurids Meteor Shower?

Every year from late September to early December, Earth passes through a wide stream of debris left behind by one of the largest comets in the solar system called Enke.  

It was first spotted in the late 1700s and is a small part of an even larger comet that broke up about 10,000 years ago. Astronomers have discovered that it is a recurring (periodic) comet, returning every three years or so. The dust associated with the comet enters the Earth’s atmosphere at 65,000 miles per hour and burns up, creating the Taurids meteor shower. This stream is very spread out and diffuse, so it takes Earth a relatively long time to pass through it.

The Taurids have two separate streams: the Northern and Southern Taurids. The Southern Taurids originate from Comet Encke itself, and the Northern Taurids originate from one of the remaining asteroids, asteroid 2004 TG10. After observing these meteors for many years, astronomers noticed that this meteor shower was much more complex than others we see yearly.

Taurids are seen everywhere on Earth except at the South Pole. They are a small class of meteor streams (those that produce up to 10 meteors per hour at peak). Taurid meteors are slow and sometimes produce bolides, making them ideal targets for astrophotography.

When Can I See the Taurids?

The Southern Taurids started a little earlier, beginning on 10 September and will last until 20 November 2024. The Northern Taurids began on 20 October and will last until 10 December.  They are expected to peak on 11-12 November, just in time for the waxing Moon, which will impair visibility.

To avoid moonlight, begin observing sometime after 2:00 a.m. local time on 12 November, when the Moon has already set. The best time to observe is when the night sky is darkest, well after sunset and before sunrise. These times vary slightly depending on the region of the UK. You can find out the sunset and sunrise times in your area here.

What Is The Best Way to See Meteors In 2024 in the UK?

These are relatively quiet streams, each producing around five meteors per hour and up to 10 meteors per hour together when the two streams overlap, as they do now. The predominant colour of meteors in the Taurid stream is yellow, but many orange, green, red and blue meteors have also been seen. The meteors will be very slow, so they should be easy to see on a clear night, but there are less than five per hour.

They can be seen with the naked eye, so there is no need for binoculars or a telescope, although you will need to let your eyes get used to the darkness. Taurus, located northeast of the constellation Orion, can be recognised by the bright red star Aldebaran and the bucket-shaped Pleiades star cluster.

As the Royal Greenwich Observatory advises, try to find a location with dark skies, an unobstructed horizon and minimal light pollution. Ensure there are no direct light sources in your eyes so that you can fully adjust to local conditions and ensure fainter meteors become visible.

Taurids require considerably more patience. There are few of them every hour, but when they do appear, they are often spectacular.