2022′s Taurid meteor showers could bring plenty of fireballs

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - The annual Taurid meteor showers will peak over the next 10 days as November gets underway. The South Taurids are forecast to peak on November 5th and the North Taurids on the 12th.

Both of these showers are visible in Alabama, but neither of them are particularly dazzling aside from the elevated rate of fireball activity associated with them. The number of fireballs that they produce goes up even more every 7 years. The great news is the last time this happened was 2015. So one would assume that 2022 will be one of those busy years for Taurid fireballs!

A typical night features up to five meteors per hour when these showers peak. When the South Taurids and North Taurids overlap in early November, upwards of 10 meteors can be seen each hour if the moon’s light doesn’t wash any of them out.

Those numbers don’t sound enticing to many I assume. And I get it. Standing outside in the middle of the night for an hour to only see 5 meteors that may not even be that bright may not be rewarding or worth your while.

But the Taurids are notorious for including bright to very bright shooting stars called fireballs. Those are the ones that make watching the night sky worth it and memorable. They are great if you can capture them on video. Add in the fact that this year’s Taurids are supposed to bring even higher fireball activity then you get a very worthwhile meteor shower.

I recommend any night between now and November 12th between midnight and 3 a.m. Head to a dark place away from city lights with an unobstructed view to the south. Give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to total darkness and enjoy the [hopefully great] show!

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