Taurids meteor shower peak: Best time to see shooting stars in North East skies this week

Keen stargazers will have the chance to catch some shooting stars in North East skies this week as one of the final meteor showers of the year ramps up.

Some of those who headed out on Sunday evening to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights, with the aurora making a brief colourful appearance in parts of the region at around 6.30pm, were lucky enough to be treated to a doubly special celestial display, with shooting stars also spotted. This is because the northern hemisphere is in the throes of the Taurid meteor shower, which is set to reach its peak this week.

The Taurids are a slow and long-lasting meteor shower that occur every year between late October and early December, caused by the Earth ploughing through debris left behind by Comet Encke. It will reach its peak on Tuesday night, November 12, with up to five shooting stars streaking across the sky every hour.

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While the number of meteors is not as frequent as the likes of the Orionids, which peaked last month, and the Geminids, which will be visible throughout December, the very slow movement of the Taurids provides ample opportunity to catch a shooting star with your own eyes. And weather conditions in the North East will be just right to bolster your chances of seeing the shower, with clear skies forecast overnight both on Monday and Tuesday.

The best time to catch the Taurids in action is at around midnight when the shower's radiant in the Taurus constellation, the spot from which the meteors appear to originate, is high in the sky, according to the BBC. It's worth heading to a location where you have a clear view of the sky with as little light pollution as possible to be in with your best chance of spotting shooting stars, Royal Museums Greenwich advises.

Experts at the observatory suggest: "Hunting for meteors, like the rest of astronomy, is a waiting game, so it's best to bring a comfy chair to sit on and to wrap up warm as you could be outside for a while. They can be seen with the naked eye so there's no need for binoculars or a telescope, though you will need to allow your eyes to adjust to the dark."

The Taurids is not the last meteor shower that amateur astronomers can look forward to before the year ends, with the Leonids currently active and set to peak on the night of November 17 at a rate of 15 shooting stars every hour. These meteors are fast and bright with fine trains, and are associated with Comet Tempel-Tuttle.

There are also two further meteor showers that will take place in December, starting with the aforementioned Geminids reaching their peak on December 14 with as many as 120 shooting stars each hour. And the 2024 meteor shower calendar will come to an end with the Ursids, due to peak on December 22 at an hourly rate of 10 shooting stars.