American Meteor Society
On July 21, 2022, Matthew Maingay was photographing the Milky Way from Lake Tekapo, South Island, New Zealand, when he captured this impressive fireball at 20:05 NZST (8:05 UT) For more on this fireball, visit: https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo_view/event/2022/4171 ©Matthew MaingayDuring this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Tuesday November 8th. At that time the moon will lie opposite the sun and will be in the sky all night long. As the week progresses the waning gibbous moon will allow a short window of opportunity to view under dark conditions between the end of dusk and moon rise. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during just prior to dawn, allowing a small opportunity to view under dark skies between moon set and the start of dawn. For those in the Western Hemisphere, New Zealand, and Japan, a total eclipse of the moon on November 8th would offer an opportunity to view under dark conditions for slightly over an hour during a full moon. The estimated total hourly rates for evening observers this week should be near 3 as seen from mid-northern latitudes (45N) and 2 as seen from tropical southern locations (25S) For morning observers, the estimated total hourly rates should be near 12 as seen from mid-northern latitudes (45N) and 8 as seen from tropical southern locations (25S). Rates are reduced by moonlight during this period. The actual rates will also depend on factors such as personal light and motion perception, local weather conditions, alertness, and experience in watching meteor activity. Note that the hourly rates listed below are estimates as viewed from dark sky sites away from urban light sources. Observers viewing from urban areas will see less activity as only the brighter meteors will be visible from such locations.
The radiant (the area of the sky where meteors appear to shoot from) positions and rates listed below are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning November 5/6. These positions do not change greatly day to day so the listed coordinates may be used during this entire period. Most star atlases (available at science stores and planetariums) will provide maps with grid lines of the celestial coordinates so that you may find out exactly where these positions are located in the sky. I have also included charts of the sky that display the radiant positions for evening, midnight, and morning. The center of each chart is the sky directly overhead at the appropriate hour. These charts are oriented for facing south but can be used for any direction by rotating the charts to the desired direction. A planisphere or computer planetarium program is also useful in showing the sky at any time of night on any date of the year. Activity from each radiant is best seen when it is positioned highest in the sky, either due north or south along the meridian, depending on your latitude. It must be remembered that meteor activity is rarely seen at the radiant position. Rather they shoot outwards from the radiant, so it is best to center your field of view so that the radiant lies at the edge and not the center. Viewing there will allow you to easily trace the path of each meteor back to the radiant (if it is a shower member) or in another direction if it is sporadic. Meteor activity is not seen from radiants that are located far below the horizon. The positions below are listed in a west to east manner in order of right ascension (celestial longitude). The positions listed first are located further west therefore are accessible earlier in the night while those listed further down the list rise later in the night.
Radiant Positions at 19:00 Local Standard Time
Radiant Positions at Midnight Local Standard Time
Radiant Positions at 5:00 Local Standard Time
These sources of meteoric activity are expected to be active this week.
Details of each source will continue next week when observing conditions are more favorable.
You can keep track of the activity of these meteor showers as well as those beyond the limits of visual observing by visiting the NASA Meteor Shower Portal available at: https://meteorshowers.seti.org/ You can move the sky globe to see different areas of the sky. Colored dots indicate shower meteors while white dots indicate sporadic (random) activity. The large orange disk indicates the position of the sun so little activity will be seen in that area of the sky.
The list below offers the information in tabular form of the showers that I feel are within reach of the visual observer to discern. Hourly rates are often less than 1 but noting parameters such as the radiant distance and the elevation of each meteor, one can compute the probability of shower association. Most showers discovered by video means have rates less than 1 per night away from maximum, so the showers listed in these outlooks are not as weak as they seem. Rates and positions are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning except where noted in the shower descriptions.
| SHOWER | DATE OF MAXIMUM ACTIVITY | CELESTIAL POSITION | ENTRY VELOCITY | CULMINATION | HOURLY RATE | CLASS |
| RA (RA in Deg.) DEC | Km/Sec | Local Standard Time | North-South | |||
| Andromedids (AND) | Nov 06 | 01:23 (021) +28 | 18 | 23:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| omicron Eridanids (OER) | Nov 13 | 03:35 (54) -00 | 29 | 01:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| Northern Taurids (NTA) | Nov 12 | 03:36 (54) +22 | 29 | 01:00 | 2 – 1 | II |
| Southern Taurids (STA) | Nov 05 | 03:37 (54) +15 | 27 | 01:00 | 4 – 3 | II |
| chi Taurids (CTA) | Nov 04 | 04:23 (66) +28 | 40 | 02:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| Orionids (ORI) | Oct 21 | 07:09 (107) +16 | 65 | 04:00 | <1 – <1 | I |
| epsilon Geminids (EGE) | Oct 19 | 07:47 (117) +25 | 67 | 05:00 | <1 – <1 | II |
| kappa Ursae Majorids (KUM) | Nov 05 | 09:41 (145) +45 | 64 | 06:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| Leonids (LEO) | Nov 18 | 09:48 (147) +26 | 69 | 06:00 | <1 – <1 | I |
| tau Cancrids (TCA) | Oct 20 | 10:10 (153) +29 | 67 | 07:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| lambda Ursa Majorids (LUM) | Oct 28 | 11:10 (168) +46 | 61 | 08:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| Southern lambda Draconids (SLD) | Nov 04 | 11:22 (170) +67 | 48 | 08:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
Class Explanation: A scale to group meteor showers by their intensity:
- Class I: the strongest annual showers with Zenith Hourly Rates normally ten or better.
- Class II: reliable minor showers with ZHR’s normally two to ten.
- Class III: showers that do not provide annual activity. These showers are rarely active yet have the potential to produce a major display on occasion.
- Class IV: weak minor showers with ZHR’s rarely exceeding two. The study of these showers is best left to experienced observers who use plotting and angular velocity estimates to determine shower association. These weak showers are also good targets for video and photographic work. Observers with less experience are urged to limit their shower associations to showers with a rating of I to III.
I saw a meteor or a fire ball in the sky above Southfield, Michigan last night 11/7/22 at 9:53 pm. I have never seen anything like it and was amazed. It was a very bright yellow/white color with a large mass at the front that was on fire and a long tail behind it. It lasted 3-4 seconds and then vanished. What do you think it was? I heard that the Taurid Swarm meteor shower is showing itself over the past 5 days as per CNN.
I’ve seen one also, looking east toward the lake… Lake St.Claire, Michigan…same time/date…I tweeted about it, peace.
I saw a meteor 11/8/22 around 10:30 pm. Green blue in color, in roswell Georgia, very special!
I have seen what looked to be a astroid come out of the sky and hit the ground, me my stepdad and mom all heard a huge explosion and me, my stepdad both seen it light up bright green before impact. Whole sky lit up, we seen this in elberton GA
This was just last night, Nov 8th 2022
Large object seen for approximately @ 11:30 for 1.5 Seconds. white and Blue in color. Very large. Was seen thru significant amount of light pollution. Never spotted one This are or heading south like it was.
I saw one on my way home from work around 8:10 pm in california. It was blue and yellow and last for about 1 second.
We saw two low in the sky last night (11/10/22) in central Texas. Very special!
At approximately 2:34 pm on Wednesday, 11/9/22, my son and I saw a meteor or fireball falling in a south to southwest direction near Piscataway, NJ. It was alarmingly large, brown and red in color, possibly on fire, with a wide, long tail of smoke following in its wake. It was falling very fast and after about 20 or 30 seconds was no longer visible beyond the treeline.
I just had the experience of witnessing one here in Greenville, SC while walking the dog. The sky was so clear with a few clouds quickly moving out! The moon and stars were so clear and bright and out of no where at 11:50 EST, a yellow ball with streak behind it, lasting a few seconds! Truly beautiful! The heavens declare the glory of God!
Sunday November 13th at 3:37 a.m. in the southern sky over Portland, Oregon. Brightest, longest meteor I have ever seen.