Taurid Fireball over Arizona
Astrophotographer Eliot Herman: "It is Taurid season when fireballs often occur. This fireball was at 11:49 pm in Tucson captured over the Catalina mountains. It left a faint 30 sec smoke trail."
Fireballs are brighter-than-average meteors. They are so bright that they can even be seen in the daytime. A steadily growing number of fireballs have been recorded by the American Meteor Society each year. In fact, there are several thousand fireballs a day, but most go unnoticed since the majority occur over the ocean and half occur during daytime.
Every year from September-November, the Earth passes through a broad stream of debris left by Comet Encke. The dust associated with the comet hits the Earth’s atmosphere at 65,000 mph and burns up, creating the Taurid meteor shower. Most years the shower is weak, and only a few Taurid meteors can be seen each night. Other years, the Taurids can put on a show.
This shower appears to radiate from the near Taurus, but will be visible across the entire night sky.
Taurid meteors can be seen any time the constellation Taurus is above the horizon during the months of September, October, and November. The best time to look for Taurids is after midnight, when Taurus is high in the sky, and when the sky is dark and clear, with no moonlight to mask the fainter meteors. Given the behavior of past Taurid swarms, increased fireball activity may be seen during the last week of October and the first two weeks of November.
If you want to try to spot meteors, remember to bundle up, as it is getting late in the year. Go to a dark spot, get comfortable, bring extra blankets to stay warm, and let your eyes adjust to the dark sky. A cozy lounge chair makes for a great seat, as does simply lying on your back on a blanket, eyes scanning the whole sky.
Arizona is a landlocked state in the Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the northwest and California to the west, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest.
Location: Tucson, Arizona, United States
Image Date: Nov. 7, 2026
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