Taurid Meteor Showers Peak Nov. 4–5 and Nov. 11–12 Under Near-Dark Skies

The Southern Taurids reach their main peak on the night of November 4–5, 2026, followed by the Northern Taurids on November 11–12 — and this year, the timing is unusually kind. A new moon falls on November 9, meaning both peaks occur under a thin crescent that causes little interference, leaving genuinely dark skies for fireball hunting.

Neither shower is a spectacle by the numbers. The Taurids produce roughly five meteors per hour under ideal conditions — the lowest zenithal hourly rate on the annual meteor calendar, according to spaceosmosis.com. What draws observers is quality over quantity: the particles are larger and slower than most shower debris, traveling at about 27–28 kilometers per second, which produces a higher proportion of fireballs — meteors brighter than Venus — than almost any other annual shower. Fireballs make up about one percent of Taurid meteors in most years and as much as seven percent in exceptional years, according to spaceosmosis.com.

The two streams share a common origin. The Southern Taurids come directly from comet 2P/Encke — the second periodic comet ever discovered — while the Northern Taurids are linked to asteroid 2004 TG10, believed to be a large fragment of Encke, according to starwalk.space. One hypothesis holds that the entire Taurid complex is the remnant of a comet roughly 40 kilometers across that broke apart about 10,000 years ago, leaving Encke, several asteroids, and the two meteor streams, according to spaceosmosis.com. Both streams appear to radiate from the constellation Taurus, which is how they got their name.

Because Earth takes several weeks to cross the broad debris field, neither branch has a sharp peak — activity builds and fades gradually. The Southern Taurids are active from around September 20 to November 20; the Northern Taurids run from about October 20 to December 10, according to the American Meteor Society as cited by freshcalendars.com. The two streams overlap through late October and early November, which is why Halloween-night fireballs have become a recurring feature: a notable cluster appeared around Halloween 2005, earning the nickname 'Halloween fireballs,' according to spaceosmosis.com.

Because the season is so long, the Moon decides the best week more than the peak date does. Any dark-Moon week in the Taurid season will do.— spaceosmosis.com

For the November 4–5 Southern Taurid peak, spaceosmosis.com calculates 8.3 dark, moon-free hours with the radiant above 20 degrees for observers at 40 degrees north latitude — a rating it describes as excellent. The radiant in Taurus rises in the evening, so meteors are visible all night, with the best hours around midnight when Taurus is highest, according to freshcalendars.com. No telescope or binoculars are needed; the wider your field of view, the better.

The Northern Taurids follow on November 11–12 under a waxing crescent moon that is only 11 percent lit, according to spaceosmosis.com. Starwalk.space notes that the shower's activity can remain near maximum for roughly ten days in early to mid-November, giving observers several windows. The New Moon on November 9 makes the surrounding nights particularly dark.

Starwalk.space also notes an early Southern Taurid peak on October 12–13, when the radiant sits in Aries before moving into Taurus in early November. Some astronomers suggest activity around that early maximum may be slightly stronger than average this year, though starwalk.space does not identify those astronomers by name.

Beyond the annual light show, the Taurid complex draws scientific attention for a different reason. The same debris stream that produces the meteors may contain larger objects. A University of Maryland study cited by starwalk.space estimates the Taurid swarm contains no more than about 9 to 14 large asteroids — significantly fewer than some earlier estimates — which the authors describe as reassuring for planetary defense, while still stressing the need for continued monitoring. A separate study cited by starwalk.space suggests Earth may pass through a denser part of the Taurid debris stream in 2032, which could increase the likelihood of atmospheric airbursts that year and in 2036. One hypothesis, advanced by researchers Duncan Steel and Bill Napier, links the Taurid complex to the 1908 Tunguska airburst in Siberia — though spaceosmosis.com notes this remains a hypothesis, not a settled cause.

The Leonids follow on the night of November 16–17, rounding out a busy November. They come from Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle and are among the fastest meteors, traveling at 43.5 miles (69.7 kilometers) per second, according to NASA as cited by freshcalendars.com. Rates are often as low as about three meteors per hour, NASA says, and the American Meteor Society does not expect Earth to encounter any dense debris clouds until 2099, though the comet's returns in 2031 and 2064 may bring rates above 100 per hour.

Why it matters — Two back-to-back meteor peaks under near-dark skies this week offer the best Taurid fireball-watching conditions in several years — no equipment needed, just a clear night and a dark field.

Reported by freshcalendars.com, starwalk.space, spaceosmosis.com