Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.A meteor shower known for blazing fireballs is set to peak on Monday night into early Tuesday and could present a dazzling display for patient sky-gazers.The Southern Taurids, the first branch of the Taurid meteors showers, will be optimally visible after midnight early Tuesday. Both showers tend to be about quality over quantity — the Southern and Northern Taurids only produce around five meteors per hour each at their peaks, according to EarthSky.But the dynamic duo often generates heightened activity of fireballs — meteors brighter than the planet Venus — from September through November, according to the American Meteor Society.“Patience is very good, especially with these showers. … Try to go outside when it’s clear and get a comfortable chair and something warm, maybe some hot cocoa, and just sort of plop yourself down and watch the sky,” said Dr. Shannon Schmoll, director of Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University.“An advantage with (the Taurids) is that they do tend to produce bigger, brighter (meteors) compared (with) other meteor showers. So if you do see one, it’s probably going to be a much bigger ‘wow’ factor,” she added.The Southern Taurids have been active in the sky since late September. On the night of the peak, the moon will only be about 11% full, according to the American Meteor Society, making for ideal viewing conditions to spot fainter meteors.The Southern and Northern Taurid meteor showers will be visible almost everywhere in the world except Antarctica, Schmoll said, as long as the constellation Taurus is visible in the sky. Taurus is the showers’ radiant from which meteors appear to originate.What is a fireball?Fireballs are typically caused by meteors more 3 feet (1 meter) long, according to NASA, making them appear brighter as they burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.The Southern Taurids are made up of debris from Comet Encke, which has an orbital period of about 3.3 years around the sun — the shortest orbit of any known comet in the solar system. The celestial body creates a broad stream of debris that Earth encounters every year. When the particles enter Earth’s atmosphere, they create the meteors we see streaking across the sky.“If you have larger chunks of material, it will take longer to burn up, so it’ll be a brighter, l …
