Nature Science

THE BIGGEST, BRIGHTEST, MOST BEAUTIFUL TREASURES IN THE SKIES ARE HAPPENING NOW

“Super Moon Port Colborne,” by Jan Maklak.

by Jan Maklak. “Super Moon Port Colborne.”

The skies are full of autumn gems. But now, this November, they are bigger, brighter, and more spectacular than usual. Check out the Super Super Moon, the Taurids Meteor Shower and the Leonids Meteor Shower, all happening in magnificent glory. See their stories below.

Super Moon

SUPER MOON

We are seeing a super super moon tonight. A record breaker. The biggest moon view in almost 70 years! That’s because it is the closest that a full moon has been to Earth in this century.

Supermoon A4

Look up in the skies tonight and you will see an autumn gem -- the moon will appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter than an average full moon. We won’t see it like this again until November 2034.

Supermoon

Our moon is 30,000 miles closer now due to its position in its elliptical orbit around Earth. And it is now lined up with both the Earth and Sun in a position known as “perigee-syzygy.” That makes this super moon appear even bigger and brighter than other super moons.

Sydney Bridge Opera House and Supermoon.

The biggest view tonight will be when the moon is close to the horizon, but this is an optical illusion.

Taurid Fireball and Aurora

TAURID METEOR SHOWER

Like sparkling diamonds, raining down from our November skies, the Taurid Meteor Shower dazzles us. Meteors emanate from the Taurus constellation and streak through the darkness for hours on end.

Meteor from the Taurid meteor shower.

Find a dark place to watch, and you may see as many as 10 - 15 shooting stars each hour.

Northern lights (and a very bright meteor from the Taurid shower.)

There are 2 streams of Taurid meteors. One from the South and one from the North Taurids, that peak each November. This November, they are more pronounced than usual.

Make a wish

So look up at the sky tonight, between midnight and dawn. Find the Taurus constellation, with its sparkling Pleiades star cluster, its V-shaped Hyades cluster, and the bright Aldebaran star in the bullseye. Then watch it rain sparkles!

Leonids From Leo

LEONIDS METEOR SHOWER

The Leonids meteor shower also peaks in November. They emanate from the Leo constellation.

Now, Earth is moving through the meteoroid stream of particles strewn by the Tempel-Tuttle comet as it passes Leo.

Courtesy of NASA. “Leonids From Leo.”

The Leonids move fast, at about 72 km/second. The larger meteoroids are about 10 mm in diameter and are quite dense.

Courtesy of NASA APOD. “Leonids Above Torre de la Guaita.”

In total, the Leonids shower deposits about 12-13 tons of particles onto the Earth’s surface.

Look up to the sky late at night now and you can see the Leonids Showers. They will peak on November 16.

Catskills Sky

Read more about Beautiful Autumn Gems in this week.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

Zion - Mt. Carmel Highway | Taurid Meteor Shower | Zion National Park

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Super Moon

IMAGE CREDITS:

Image: by Jan Maklak. “Super Moon Port Colborne.”
Image: by Dave Grubb. “Super Moon.”
Image: by John Finn. “Supermoon A4.”
Image: by Victoria Pickering. “Supermoon.”
Image: by Rex Boggs. “Sydney Bridge Opera House and Supermoon.”
Image: by Rocky Raybell. “Taurid Fireball and Aurora.” Taurid Meteor Shower.
Image: by Bill Allen. “Meteor from the Taurid meteor shower.” Taurid Meteor Shower.
Image: by European Space Agency. “Northern lights (and a very bright meteor from the Taurid shower.)” Taurid Meteor Shower.
Image: by Thanasis Papathanasiou. “Make a wish.” Taurid Meteor Shower.
Image: by Chen Huang-Ming. Courtesy of NASA. “Leonids From Leo.” Leonids Meteor Shower.
Image: by Juan Carlos Casado (TWAN). Courtesy of NASA APOD. “Leonids Above Torre de la Guaita.” Leonids Meteor Shower.
Image: by Malcolm Park (North York Astronomical Association). Courtesy of NASA APOD. “Leonids and Friends.” Leonids Meteor Shower.
Image: by Jeff P. “Catskills Sky.”
Image: by steffo photography. “Zion - Mt. Carmel Highway | Taurid Meteor Shower | Zion National Park.”
Image: by BN App - Download now!
Image: by Gary Nored. “Super Moon.”