CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)- Keep your eye on the sky, Lowcountry!
The Taurid meteor shower, which runs annually between September and December, will peak over Charleston the night of Nov. 4 and into the morning of Nov. 5
Taurid is a long-running, low-rate meteor shower that produces about five to ten meteors per hour. But, Storm Team 2 Meteorologist Olivia Lawrence said it is an unusual shower because it consists of two separate streams.
The first stream is produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10, and the second is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke.
Although infrequent, Taurid produces bright and noticeable meteors sometimes dubbed “fireballs.” According to NASA Meteor Watch, this is because Taurids produces pebble-sized debris as opposed to dust-sized debris in other showers which creates a bright streak of light when it hits the Earth’s atmosphere.
Olivia added that the almost full moon (84%) might block the dimmer meteors, but eager stargazers may still be able to catch a few of the brightest ones.
For optimal viewing, astronomers recommend finding a dark spot after midnight, giving your eyes between 30 and 45 minutes to adjust to the dark, and lying flat on your back.
While meteors can and will appear anywhere in the sky, this shower radiates from the constellation Taurus.
If you capture any pictures or videos of the Taurid meteor shower, send them to @livlawrencewx or @SophieBramsWCBD on Twitter!
