Technologies

Meteor Shower Season Heats Up as Orionids and Taurids Activate

Earth is set to pass through a series of dusty clouds of space debris from Halley’s Comet and others that promise to light up night skies.

August’s Perseid meteor shower may be the most well known of the year, but it’s the last quarter of the year that brings the most shooting-star and fireball action to night skies.

As of this week, both the Orionid and Southern Taurid meteor showers are active. While the Orionids aren’t set to peak until around Oct. 20, they still add some shooting stars to each evening right away. The Taurids, on the other hand, don’t have a very defined peak and are forecast to be visible at a rate of around two per hour over the next several weeks.

Adding to the celestial drama is the Taurids’ reputation for delivering a number of bright fireballs streaking through the sky.

«In 2022, the Earth passed through a swarm of Taurid fireballs,» writes Bob Lunsford for the American Meteor Society. «This year we are further from this swarm but will still encounter some fireball activity.»

The Taurids can be traced to debris from the comet 2P/Encke, while the Orionids are connected to the leavings of the famed Halley’s Comet, which visits the inner solar system only about every 75 years. The celebrity snowball won’t be back until 2061.

Two distinct clouds from Halley’s Comet are responsible for both the Orionids each October and the Eta Aquariids meteor shower in May.

How to see the celestial show

When the Orionids peak between Oct 20 and 22, the conditions should be nearly perfect, especially with the moonless sky on the morning of the 22nd in the hours just before dawn. Most nights, the area near the constellation of Orion the Hunter where the Orionids appear to radiate from will be highest in the sky around 2 a.m. But it may be possible to see the meteors anytime between midnight and dawn.

The Orionids are known for zipping through the sky at relatively high speed and often leaving long trains that can linger for a second or two.

During those peak mornings, the number of Orionid meteors will suddenly increase to between 10 and 20 per hour, but sometimes Earth passes through a particularly dense pocket of debris and those rates shoot up to 50 to 70, rivaling the Perseids.

While it’s worth marking the Orionids’ peak on your calendar, you might be able to catch a handful of meteors and a fireball on any given night over the next several weeks.

If you have at least an hour free on a night with clear skies and a location away from light pollution, all you need to do is find an area with a broad view of the night sky. Allow at least 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness and then just relax, lie back and watch.

See the Perseid meteor shower make a celestial scene worldwide

+7 more

See all photos

You’ll hear seasoned skywatchers talking about orienting yourself to face the radiant of a particular meteor shower. The radiant is the section of the sky from which certain meteors will appear to radiate outward. Meteor showers are usually named for a constellation within that radiant, so the Orionids are named for Orion.

If you can locate Orion in the sky and orient yourself in that direction, it might boost your viewing experience slightly. But the reality is that most amateurs won’t notice a difference. It’s far more important to have dark skies away from light pollution and the widest view of the sky possible. While meteors might originate from a certain radiant, they go all over the sky from that point, so it really doesn’t matter much which way you face.

Plus, there are more than Orionids up there on most nights. There are also the aforementioned Taurids, smaller showers like the Anthelion and even sporadic meteors that aren’t part of defined showers.

So just plan for at least an hour outside, preferably between midnight and dawn, for the best chance to make it through lulls in activity and spotting a few meteors. Be sure to bring all you need to be comfortable that long: Blankets, snacks and drinks are a good idea. Good luck!

Technologies

Porsche Has Released Its First All-Electric Macan GTS. How Fast Does It Go?

The electric Porsche Macan GTS delivers plenty of speed and classic GTS attitude to rival the Tesla Model Y Performance.

Technologies

November Nights Will Dazzle with Three Meteor Showers. Here’s How to Watch Like a Pro

You won’t need binoculars or a telescope, but you will need to get away from urban and suburban lights.

Get ready for an active November, skygazers. The month features three annual meteor showers — the Northern Taurids, the Southern Taurids, and the Leonids — two of which are already active. Northern Taurids started on Oct. 20, and Southern Taurids — one of the longest meteor showers of the year — began on Sept. 20. Leonids are expected to start on Nov. 6.

Even though two of these meteor showers are already in progress, the best parts of each are still to come. All three showers peak during November. And while these showers aren’t as prolific as the biggest ones, including August’s Perseids and January’s Quadrantids, you can still marvel at meteors with a bit of luck and some tips we’ll provide.

Not everyone understands what a meteor shower actually is, but it’s fairly simple. Shooting stars are a common occurrence in space around planet Earth. According to NASA, 48.5 tons of meteoritic material hit Earth’s atmosphere every year. Sometimes, enough of that material comes from the same spot, and we humans refer to those as meteor showers.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Southern Taurids: The longest one

The Southern Taurids shower lasts for two months, making it one of the longest meteor showers of the year.

Southern Taurids is scheduled to peak on the evening of Nov. 4 into Nov. 5, and should spawn upwards of five meteors per hour during that peak. Southern Taurids is known for its increased chance of fireballs, which are meteors that are brighter than most. According to some reports, these fireballs can be brighter than the planet Venus when they streak across the night sky.

All meteor showers are named for the constellations where they appear to originate, a spot known as the radiant. For the Southern Taurids, the radiant is in the Taurus constellation near the Pleiades star cluster, so that is where you’ll want to look for them. Taurus will be visible in the eastern sky shortly after sunset and end its evening in the western sky as the sun rises.

Northern Taurids: Peaks later than its sibling

The Northern Taurids meteor shower is set to peak on Nov. 11 and 12. It’s identical to the Southern Taurids, only with a later peak date. The origin point will be the Taurus constellation, producing an average of five meteors per hour with an increased chance of fireballs.

Leonids: The most active

Of the three November meteor showers, Leonids should be the most active. It is fed by the Tempel-Tuttle Comet, which can produce some dense debris clouds, resulting in very strong showers. Leonids is set to peak on Nov. 16-17.

Some sources say as many as 15 visible meteors per hour is possible, while NASA estimates a more conservative three per hour under dark skies. It’s impossible to know for sure how active this shower will be until the peak occurs..

As the name implies, Leonids will appear out of the Leo constellation. Leo is visible in the eastern sky between midnight and 1 a.m. local time.

Per the American Meteor Society, Leonids has produced some intense meteor showers as recently as 2002, but isn’t scheduled to do so again until 2031, 2064, and 2099 as the comet returns to the solar system. During these rare meteor storms, NASA says that it’s possible to see upwards of 1,000 meteors per hour.

Tips for watching meteor showers

Here are some tips and tricks that will help increase your odds of spotting a meteor in November.

Get away from light pollution

This is the most important guideline to follow. Simply put, city lights make meteors harder to see.

«Light pollution will definitely hamper your viewing of meteors,» Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, told CNET. «The more light pollution you are under, the fewer meteors you’ll see.»

Nichols says that unfavorable conditions can reduce the number of meteors you see by upwards of 75%.

Head to the countryside and find a spot that is as dark as possible. (There are other sources of light pollution that humans can’t do anything about, like the moon.)

The Southern Taurids peaks during November’s full moon, which is also a supermoon, meaning it shares the maximum amount of light pollution you can get from the moon. If you’re going to skip any of these showers, the Southern Taurids is probably the best choice. The other two showers will have much more favorable celestial conditions.

Don’t take any equipment

Meteor showers typically have an origin point, but you won’t need binoculars or telescopes.

«You want to just use your eyes,» said Nichols. «Binoculars or telescopes both look at ever-smaller pieces of sky, and you want to be able to look around at the entire sky.»

Meteors are very fast, and a magnification device may obstruct your ability to see the whole path. Nichols says that Taurids meteors tend to travel at 17 to 18 miles per second while Orionids may travel as fast as 41 miles per second.

Also, meteors don’t last for a long time.

«Look for short-lived, quick streaks of light,» Nichols says. «Meteors tend to last a fraction of a second to maybe a few seconds for the longer-lived ones.»

Nichols also notes that much of the material falling to Earth’s surface is «only about the size of a grain of sand.» As such, the streak humans often see isn’t the meteor itself, but rather the «glowing, superheated air that surrounds that bit of comet material» as it plummets toward Earth.

Dress for the occasion

Unless you live in the Deep South, it’s likely to be cold outside in November. Dressing for the occasion means you’ll be able to stay out longer, even if it’s chilly.

«When you go outside, dress warmly in layers, even if it’s not terribly cold where you are,» says Nichols. «You’ll be out there for a while, and at night, you may easily get chilled, especially if it’s damp out.»

Nichols recommends bringing an extra chair to put your feet on to keep them off the cold ground, especially if it’s wet, and also recommends against drinking alcohol, which causes blood vessels to dilate, causing the body to lose heat faster.

Patience is a virtue

The phrase «it’s a marathon, not a sprint» is about as apropos as it gets for meteor watching. Showers are unpredictable, and every number you’ve seen in this article or elsewhere online is essentially an estimate. You’ll want to make sure to give yourself as much time as you can to get settled.

«Give your eyes at least 20-30 minutes to adjust to the darkness,» Nichols advises. «You may not see meteors right away. And when you do, they’ll be sporadic.»

If it were easy to spot meteors, then it wouldn’t be special. You can help yourself by reducing your phone screen brightness to its lowest setting to preserve your night vision, and by using flashlights, not big camping lanterns.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Nov. 2

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 2.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? A few clues are tricky. Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.