If you see fireballs streaking across the sky the night before Election Day, don’t worry, they aren’t an omen of political doom.
Rather, two sister meteor showers are currently lighting up the night sky and will experience peaks on two days this month, including this Monday night into Tuesday morning.
A fireball image captured during the Taurids meteor showers in 2014. NASA All Sky Fireball Network
This year, the Southern Taurids meteor shower will experience one of its peaks on Election Day — but wishing on a shooting star for your candidate of choice is unlikely to yield results. APBoth the Southern Taurids and Northern Taurids pepper the Earth’s atmosphere each fall, dazzling stargazers with trails of light.
But NASA said this year’s showers could be “more active than usual.”
“Individuals should not be surprised if they see a bright meteor or fireball over the next few nights,” said Bill Cooke, lead for the NASA Meteoroid Environments Office, on the agency’s blog.
The Southern Taurids will peak on Nov. 5 and the Northern Taurids will peak on Nov. 12.
If you spot fireballs in the sky late Monday into Tuesday morning, don’t panic, it’s not an omen of political doom. APNASA says the best time to see (or wish on) the shooting stars is after midnight, when the constellation Taurus is high and the sky is at its darkest.
Both showers will continue into December with the last of the Taurid fireballs visible on Dec. 8.
