Meteors of Halloween are back: What to know about Taurid meteor shower

Meteors of Halloween are back: What to know about Taurid meteor shower

Sky watchers could be in for a treat tonight.

The “meteors of Halloween” have returned, according to NASA, and could produce a streak in the sky tonight (Oct. 31) as little ghosts and goblins get ready to trick-or-treat.

Every years around this time, the Earth passes through a stream of debris produced by the breakup of a large comet tens of thousands of years ago. This breakup also produced Comet Encke, NASA explains, which adds to the debris trail as it travels around the sun. The debris stream is wide, taking our planet a couple of months to go through.

This is a good thing for us on Earth as the extended time means we get to experience the Taurid meteor showers.

Taurids are set to peak Nov. 5 but will appear earlier so you just may catch one tonight.

“When you are out trick or treating, watch the sky – you might just see a fireball overhead,” NASA said in a blog post.

The Taurids are typically “low activity” showers producing just a couple of meteors per hour but are usually quite bright and noticeable. Even better, they are capable of producing a “Taurid swarm,” when the number of fireballs goes up substantially. This jump in activity usually happens in the last week of October and first week of November, giving the Taurids the name “meteors of Halloween.”

The last Taurid storm happened in 2015 and we are currently experiencing another one, NASA said. An even better one is forecast for 2032.

The best time to view the Taurids is after midnight, preferably away from city lights.