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Are you seeing a ‘fireball’ over Florida? Here’s what it could be

Peak of Northern Taurids shower expected Nov. 11 - 12

Meteor generic (Pixabay)

Florida residents looking up in the skies on Monday night and early Tuesday morning could potentially witness an interesting sight: “fireballs” lighting up over the Earth.

According to the American Meteor Society, any “fireballs” seen are likely meteors in the Northern Taurids shower.

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“This shower is much like the Southern Taurids, just active a bit later in the year,” the AMS website reads. “When the two showers are active simultaneously in late October and early November, there is sometimes a notable increase in the fireball activity.”

While the Northern Taurids meteor shower is active through Dec. 2, its peak takes place on Monday night going into early Tuesday morning.

This 2014 image provided by NASA shows a Taurid fireball recorded at the NASA All Sky Fireball Network station in Tullahoma, Tenn. (NASA via AP)

“The shower peaks in November, when Earth intersects the dust cloud left by comet Encke,” the website states.

However, the AMS also reports that the moon is expected to be nearly 80% full on Monday night — making it a challenge to actually spot these meteors in the sky.

But if you want to take the opportunity and try to watch the meteor shower, the AMS suggests that the best chances to do so will come after midnight.

Taurid Meteor shower from 2014

As their names might suggest, the Taurids showers can be seen near the zodiac constellation Taurus, assuming that the fireballs appear visible.

And if you happen to spot any flying overhead here in the Sunshine State, be sure to share them with everyone using our PinIt! page here.



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