These Shooting Stars Can Outshine Venus. Here’s When to See Them.

The Taurid meteor shower is more of a light sprinkle than a heavy storm. On a typical night, you might see only a handful of shooting stars—about five per hour, under ideal conditions. But the shower often produces a different spectacle: fireballs bright enough to outshine Venus as they streak across the sky.

Here’s what you need to know about the Taurids.

What are the Taurids?

The Taurids comprise two related meteor showers: the Southern Taurids and the Northern Taurids. “Meteor shower names are determined primarily by the location of their radiant in the sky,” says Justin Bartel, Assistant Director of Education, Astronomy Programs at the Science Museum of Virginia.

Both showers appear to radiate from Taurus, though the Northern Taurids’ radiant is farther north than the Southern Taurids’, hence their names.

Astronomer Bramuel Oduori Nakholi, observatory and astronomy guide at Segera Retreat in Kenya, calls the showers “siblings rather than twins, related in origin but following slightly different paths that bring their peaks about a week apart.”

Both showers are commonly linked to comet 2P/Encke as the source of the meteors. “But the northern component of the shower may originate with an asteroid on a very similar orbit called 2004 TG10,” says Bartel. The comet and asteroid have such similar orbits that they may be fragments of a larger object that broke apart long ago.

When are the Taurids?

In 2026, the combined Taurids run all season long, from September 20 through December 10, but they’re most productive during their respective peaks.

The Southern Taurids peak the night of November 4 into the morning of November 5, and the Northern Taurids follow, peaking on the night of November 11 into the morning of November 12.

Why the Taurids Can Produce Fireballs

Meteors are bits of comet or asteroid debris that heat up and glow as they plunge through Earth’s atmosphere. When a meteor shines brighter than Venus, it’s called a fireball.

“The Taurid stream is notable for carrying an unusually high proportion of larger, pebble-sized particles compared with most other showers,” says Nakholi. The larger debris tends to create fireballs.

Taurid meteors are also relatively slow, entering the atmosphere at about 17 to 18 miles per second, so their streaks might last longer than usual. Pair that with a fireball, and you’ve got an excellent show.

Every few years, Earth may pass through a denser pocket of Taurid debris; Jupiter’s gravity is thought to keep some larger meteoroids clustered in “swarms” as they orbit the Sun. “When Earth moves through these swarms, enhanced fireball activity can be observed,” says Bartel.

Though a swarm is not expected in 2026—we moved through one last year, and the next predicted encounter is in 2032—fireballs are still possible during the Taurids.

How to see the Taurid meteor shower

Unlike many meteor showers, the Taurids are visible in both the northern and southern hemispheres, as their radiant sits fairly close to the celestial equator.

This year, viewing conditions should be good: Both showers peak near the new moon on November 9, so moonlight won’t be much of a problem.

For the best chance to see a meteor, find a dark place with a broad view of the sky and give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness. Skip binoculars and telescopes; their narrow fields of view can make it easier to miss meteors elsewhere across the sky.

Taurid meteors can appear anywhere, though their paths seem to trace back toward the constellation Taurus, which rises in the east during the evening and climbs higher overnight. Look up after midnight, when the constellation is higher, and keep watching: The Taurids might not be prolific, but one bright fireball can make the wait worthwhile.