13 November 2023 , 17:13
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The Taurids meteor shower is set to reach its peak tonight.
The sky will be darker tonight, due to the new moon, and so it'll be easier to spot the spectacular meteors. The best time to catch the amazing cosmic display is at around 11pm, experts understand.
The UK Space Agency said: "With the new Moon bringing darker skies around the 13 November, the combination of the Taurids and Leonids meteor showers in the middle of this month provide a good chance to see meteors streak across our sky." Astronomer Dr Minjae Kim, an academic at University of Warwick, told the BBC the will meteor shower be visible at the latest 11pm.
A meteor streaks across the sky during the Perseids shower which captivated stargazers in August (Getty Images)The UK Space Agency added: "The Taurids meteor shower is expected to peak around 12-13 November, as Earth passes through the fragments of rock and ice left behind from Comet Encke, a 5km (3 mile) wide object that orbits the Sun every three years. The more spread-out fragments of this comet mean this shower only produces a sprinkling of meteors, but their relatively slow speed 27km (17 miles) per second - can make them easier to spot as they blaze across the night sky."
The Taurid meteor shower, sometimes known as Halloween fireballs, is set to light up the sky tonight with about 5 meteors per hour, reports Bristol Post.
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The UK Space Agency said: "The Leonids meteor shower is active for much of the month and peaks around 17-18 November when the fragments of Comet Tempel-Tuttle enter Earth's atmosphere at over 70km (45 miles) per second."
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