(ORDO NEWS) — NASA has announced that the Taurid meteor shower will be visible this week.
Tens of thousands of years ago, a large comet broke apart, creating a shower of meteor particles. And every year the Earth passes through this wide stream for several months.
The Taurids show low activity, so only a few meteors cross the sky per hour, but astronomers say they are usually very bright and visible.
The orbits of the Taurid meteors are determined by the gravity of other planets in our solar system, mainly Jupiter.
According to NASA, sometimes there are changes in these orbits that lead to an increase in the number of Taurids close to Earth.
In such cases, we can observe the so-called “taurid swarm”, when the number of visible fireballs increases significantly.
This year the Earth will collide with the taurid swarm. The last time these meteor showers were seen was in 2015, astronomers say, and it is expected that the next time we will be able to observe them is only in 2032.
The increase in Taurid activity usually occurs in the last week of October and the first week of November.
NASA said “the best time to look for the Taurids is after midnight, when Taurus is high in the sky and the sky is dark and clear, with no moonlight to mask fainter meteors.”
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