Tonight, Vietnam welcomes a huge "fireball rain"

(NLDO) - The Southern Taurids is a meteor shower, but its meteors are unusually large and bright like fireballs, and fly very slowly.

There will be two meteor showers this November coming from the constellation Taurus. And they are both "fireball showers" and not ordinary meteor showers.

A fireball from the Taurids meteor shower - Photo: EARTHSKY

According to NASA, this meteor shower will peak on November 5. For Vietnam's time zone, the best night will be on the evening of November 4 and early morning of November 5.

According to Space.com , in 2024, observing conditions for the Southern Taurids will be favorable, with the Moon only reaching about 15% brightness during the shower's peak.

However, the Northern Taurids meteor shower - which peaks on the night of November 11 and early morning of November 12 if observed from Vietnam - may be affected by the 84% brightness of the moon, obscuring some of the faintest meteors.

Map of the Northern Taurids and Southern Taurids meteor shower emission points - Graphic image: NASA

Both of these showers will only produce a modest number of meteors per hour. But they will still be spectacular, as both meteors are bigger and brighter than any other shower.

"Taurids are very rich in fireballs, so if you see a Taurid, it can be very bright and will dazzle you, although their speed is really bad," said NASA meteorite expert Bill Cooke.

That's why the Southern Taurids meteor shower is often called the "Halloween fireballs." This shower starts a few days before its peak, in late October.

Taurid meteors are larger than the meteors that make up other meteor showers and so can survive for longer periods as they pass through Earth's atmosphere.

NASA gives the example of Orionids meteors, which typically burn up at an altitude of about 93 km, while Taurids typically fall to altitudes of up to 66 km.

Taurid meteors also travel at about 27 km/s; while Perseids meteors glide at 59 km/s.

Although it originates from the constellation Taurus, the "culprit" causing the Taurids fireballs is the giant comet Encke, which has a comet nucleus about 4.8 m across.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/dem-nay-viet-nam-don-cuc-dai-mua-cau-lua-196241104094032011.htm