The Taurid Meteor Shower will light up the sky this week. Here’s how to catch the show

This is a good time to keep your eyes to the skies — the Taurid Meteor Shower hits its peak this week!

The Taurid Meteor Shower will peak between Nov. 6 and Nov. 12 and radiate from the constellation Taurus, EarthSky reports. The best viewing times are between midnight and dawn, according to the outlet.

The Taurid Meteor Shower is the collective name of two meteor streams that happen at the same time: the Northern Taurids and Southern Taurids, according to Business Insider. Historically, the Taurids have been light in quantity, only producing between five to 10 meteors an hour, but Taurid meteors are no ordinary meteors.

Meteors from the Taurid streams are often categorized as fireballs, according to the American Meteor Society. Fireballs are brighter-than-normal meteors that “(explode) in a bright terminal flash at its end.”

Fireball meteors are often as bright as Venus, NASA says.

“The Taurids are rich in fireballs, so if you see a Taurid it can be very brilliant and it’ll knock your eyes out, but their rates absolutely suck,” NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com. “It’s simply the fact that when a Taurid appears it’s usually big and bright.”

Taurid meteors can travel more than 65,000 mph from their parent Comet Enke, NASA says. Comet Enke orbits the sun once every 3.3 years.

Experts say Taurid fireballs tend to be on a seven-year cycle, prompting spectacular fireball shows in 2008 and 2015, according to EarthSky. While another “grand display” isn’t expected until 2022, stargazers can still expect to catch a glimpse of one of the famous Taurid fireballs this year.

This story was originally published November 6, 2019 at 11:28 AM with the headline "The Taurid Meteor Shower will light up the sky this week. Here’s how to catch the show."