Volgograd residents will see the peak of the meteor shower Northern Taurids on the night of November 12
On the night of November 11-12, 2026, the peak activity of the North Taurid meteor shower will take place. According to astronomers, the conditions for observation were almost ideal, and you should not miss such a chance
The main trump card of this year is the complete absence of lunar illumination. The recent new moon ensures that the thin crescent of the moon disappears behind the horizon at the beginning of the evening, leaving a completely dark and clear sky overhead.
The radiant of the stream, that is, the point from which meteors visually fly apart, is located in the constellation Taurus. This makes it perfectly visible to observers in northern latitudes, including the Volgograd region, although the phenomenon is generally accessible from both hemispheres of the Earth.
Do not count on a real "star rain": the intensity of the stream is quite modest, on average about five meteors per hour.
However, Taurid has its own unique advantage. These are dust particles left in orbit from the Encke complex (presumably from asteroid 2004 TG10).
Burning in the atmosphere, they generate unusually slow and bright bolides, which effectively and leisurely draw the sky. It is this feature that makes the stream one of the most photogenic astronomical events of autumn.
The activity of the stream will remain at a high level for about ten days, forming the so-called “extended plateau”, but tonight promises to be the most spectacular.
Experts advise to arm yourself not only with a warm blanket, but also with a camera on a tripod: it will be much easier to catch a slow and bright trail of a falling star in the frame than during other, more rapid meteor showers.
