How to see the Taurid meteor shower 2021 in the UK tonight

By Amy Barrett

Published: Wednesday, 10 November 2021 at 12:00 am

Keep your eyes on the skies, as the Taurids meteor shower will soon be hitting its peak for those in the northern hemisphere.

For those in the UK, the shower could see up to 10 meteors flashing across the night sky. While the Taurids is a more subdued shower, in comparison to the maximum 150 shooting stars seen in the Perseid shower in August 2021, it is still spectacle not to be missed.

Meteors in the Taurids are larger than those made by other comets, so they can look slightly different to stargazers – if you’re lucky, you’ll see a few bright, slightly orange, meteors that are known as ‘fireballs’.

But when is the best time to see the shower, and where should you be looking in the sky? We asked Prof Carole Mundell, head of astrophysics at University of Bath, to answer your questions.

For more stargazing tips, check out our astronomy for beginners guide and our full Moon UK calendar.

When can you see the Taurids meteor shower 2021 in the UK?

The Taurids meteor shower 2021 will peak on 11-12 November for those in the UK and around the northern hemisphere, but is visible from 20 October until around 10 December.

“They’ll appear to have come from the constellation of Taurus, which will rise high in the sky probably around midnight to 1:30am,” says Mundell.

However, these meteors will move slowly across the sky, and you should be able to see them between midnight and 5am.

How many meteors will I be able to see in the UK?

“The projection for this year is 10 to 15 per hour,” says Mundell. “So, you’re not going to go and see a kind of bonfire night!”

The Taurids actually have two strings of showers, separately named the southern and northern Taurids. The southern Taurids tend to peak at the beginning of November, whereas the UK and the northern hemisphere will see the second peak around 12 November.

“The Taurids burn a yellowish orange across the sky. And in fact, the biggest fragments might even be responsible for some of the spectacular fireballs that people are increasingly seeing. These are fragments will then burn a bit more spectacularly.”

How can I see the Taurids meteor shower 2021?

The Taurid meteor shower appears to come from the constellation of Taurus, which is just above Orion. Orion’s belt can be spotted if you look for three shining stars quite close together – the starting point for finding the Pleiades.

“The Pleiades star cluster – the one also called The Seven Sisters – is in the Taurus constellation. It’s faint, but you would know it if you saw it. Find Orion and then look above that, and that will be where the Taurids appear to come from.

“But of course, because they streak across the sky, you might see them flash other points. If you see something yellowish and orange that appears to have come from Taurus, then you have probably seen a Taurid meteor.”