| Title: |
Taurid Meteor Shower |
| Location: |
Hawaiian Island Viewing |
| Date / Time: |
Nov.1st-10th |
| Comments: |
A lesser known meteor shower, the Taurids, may put on a nice show this year, with more activity than usual & lots of bright fireballs. With a small crescent Moon setting before midnight the first week of November, & under dark, clear skies, we might be able to view as many as 12 meteors ("shooting stars") per hour, including numerous slow-moving fireballs. Best viewing after midnight & just prior to sunrise Nov. 1st - 10th, with peak activity expected before dawn on Nov. 5th. Taurid meteors are so named because they appear to originate or "radiate" from the constellation Taurus, the Bull, which sits low in the east a few hours after sunset, & is almost directly overhead by around 1:30 AM. Most of us are more familiar with the Leonid Meteor Shower, which peaks on November 17th. However this year a bright gibbous Moon might interfere with our chance to see all but the brightest Leonid meteors. Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes thru the path of a comet. Every year in late October and early November, Earth passes through a river of space dust associated with Comet 2P/Encke. Tiny grains hit our atmosphere at 65,000 MPH. At that speed, even a tiny smidgen of dust makes a vivid streak of light--a meteor--when it disintegrates. |
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Maintained by Roz Reiner - Kauai, Hawaii
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