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A meteor shower known for its blazing fireballs is expected to peak Monday night and could present a dazzling spectacle for patient skywatchers.

The Southern Taurids, the first branch of the Taurid meteor shower, will be best visible after midnight early Tuesday. Both showers tend to favor quality over quantity: the Southern and Northern Taurids only produce around five meteors per hour each at their peak, according to EarthSky.

But this dynamic duo often generates increased fireball activity – meteors brighter than the planet Venus — from September to November, depending on American Meteor Society.

“Patience is very good, especially with these showers. … Try to go outside when the weather is clear and grab a comfortable chair and something warm, maybe hot chocolate, and just sit and look at the sky,” said Dr. Shannon Schmoll, director of the Abrams Planetarium in Michigan State University.

“An advantage of the Taurids is that they tend to produce larger and brighter (meteors) than (other) meteor showers. So if you see one, it’s probably going to be a much bigger ‘wow’ factor,” she added.

The Southern Taurids have been active in the sky since the end of September. On the night of the peak, the moon will only be about 11% full, according to the American Meteor Societywhich creates ideal viewing conditions for spotting fainter meteors.

The Southern and Northern Taurid meteor showers will be visible almost anywhere in the world except Antarctica, Schmoll said, as long as the constellation Taurus is visible in the sky. Taurus is the radiant of showers from which meteors seem to come.

Fireballs are usually caused by meteors measuring more than a meter long, according to NASAmaking them brighter as they burn in Earth’s atmosphere.

The Southern Taurids are made up of debris of comet Enckewhich has an orbital period of approximately 3.3 years around the sun – the shortest orbit of any known comet in the solar system. The celestial body creates a large stream of debris that Earth encounters every year. When the particles enter Earth’s atmosphere, they create the meteors we see streaking across the sky.

“If you have larger pieces of material, it will take longer to burn, so it will be a brighter, longer sequence – a fireball is one of the (relatively) large ones,” Schmoll said. Sometimes larger space rocks fall to the ground, in which case they are called meteorites, but most of the particles are too small and burn up quickly, she added.

Every few years, Taurid showers see an increase in the rate of meteor production, often called a Taurid “swarm”, as the higher rates created in 2022. This increased activity is generally observed every three or seven years, depending on the American Meteor Society.

Normal rates expected this year for Taurid showers – scientists predict the next swarm will occur in 2025 — but the celestial display could still provide a sight to behold, Schmoll said.

“I think it’s really good for us to have these moments of focusing on the beauty of the universe… to have that connection with nature and the outdoors and to marvel at what’s happening out there ” Schmoll said. “There’s something so exciting about seeing this trail of light, this interaction of Earth with the rest of the solar system.”

According to the American Meteor Society, meteors from the Southern Taurides are expected to shine in the sky until their final appearance on December 8.

The Northern Taurids are expected to peak about a week later, on November 11 and 12, and skywatchers may see an increase in the number of meteors crossing the sky when both showers are active.

Here are the remaining 2024 meteor showers and their peak dates, according to the American Meteor Society:

Leonides: November 16-17

Geminids: December 12-13

Ursids: December 21-22

And keep an eye out for the two remaining full moons in 2024: the Beaver Moon, which is a supermoon, on November 15 and the Cold Moon on December 15. from the Farmers’ Almanac.