By Patricia Lanzagarita

THE universe will bless us with two (2) meteor showers this November, based on the astronomical diary of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA).

As per the diary, the first meteor shower is the Northern Taurid Meteor Shower which will transpire on November 13.

The Taurid was produced by the fragments of asteroid 2004 TG10. It is expected to create five (5) meteors per hour and will be active once the Taurus rises in the east-northeastern sky after sunset and will go until before the sunrise of November 13.

“The shower will peak close to the new Moon, and so the moonlight will present minimal interference,” PAG-ASA said.

According to the EarthSky Organization, the said meteors are slow-moving yet they are very bright. Its showers and sometimes produce fireballs like its appearance back in 2008, 2015, and 2022. 

Thus, these appearances made the American Meteor Society point to “a seven-year periodicity” of Taurid fireballs.

Meanwhile, the second meteor shower that will happen this month is the Leonid Meteor Shower, which will occur on November 18.

Leonid Meteor Shower was produced by the comet 55P Tempel-Tuttle. The meteor shower is expected to make at least 15 meteors per hour and will be active once the Leo rises in the northeastern sky from midnight until before the sunrise of November 18.

“The number of visible meteors increases as the radiant ascends to its highest point in the sky at around 05:00 a.m.,” the agency added.

The EarthSky Organization stated that Leonid occurs in cycles of 33 to 34 years.

The last meteor storm happened way back in 2002. Nonetheless, the prominent Leonid meteor shower happened in 1966, as thousands of meteors fell per minute during its 15-minute span.

PAG-ASA advises the stargazers that binoculars, telescopes, and other special tools are unnecessary for these meteor showers as they are visible and can be observed with the naked eye.

Attention to all stargazers!

For this month’s meteor showers, search for a dark location far from the city lights with a clear sky and no moon to fully enjoy the viewing experience.

Source: PAG-ASA, EarthSky Organization, and NASA

(ai/mnm)