Taurid meteor shower to reach peak visibility

Nov. 5 (UPI) -- The Taurid meteor shower will be visible in the night sky for the next week for the phenomenon's annual appearance.

Earth passes through the debris left behind by comets every fall from September to November and the meteor shower was expected to be most visible beginning early Tuesday through Nov. 12.

The phenomenon gets its name from the path it travels across the sky from the constellation Taurus, the Bull. Watchers can see more meteors, or fireballs, the higher the shower's radiants are in the sky.

Bill Cooke, the head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, told ABC News that the Taurid meteor is the result of the Comet Encke, one of the largest in the solar system. Encke is a small portion of an even larger comet that broke up about 10,000 years ago.

"What makes them so special is the Taurids are big," Cooke said. "They're big pieces of debris, and they produce these very spectacular fireballs. You don't want to look at Taurus, because the meteor coming from there will have short trains and be faint."

The Taurid meteor shower comes in two waves, the Southern Taurids and the Northern Taurids.

Visibility for the Southern Taurids was expected to be best Monday and Tuesday as a dimmer moon -- just 11% full -- won't obstruct visibility.

The Northern Taurids are expected to reach their peak next on Nov. 11-12 but the moon will be 79% full during that period which will harm visibility.