Meteors & Meteor Showers

About half of the contiguous (48) states will have clear, starry skies — a perfect backdrop for watching this very best of the year's principal meteor displays, the Geminid Meteor Shower.

The Geminid meteor shower reaches its peak on Dec. 13 and 14. Conditions look favorable for a spectacular display this year under the dark skies of a new moon.

Debris from the near-Earth comet 46P/Wirtanen could enter our planet's atmosphere, triggering a new meteor shower on Tuesday, Dec. 12, called the Lambda-Sculptorids.

One of the most famous of the annual meteor showers will soon be reaching its maximum: The Leonids. These ultrafast meteors are due to reach their peak on Saturday morning (Nov. 18).

The Northern Taurid meteor shower peaks overnight on Nov. 11, offering the chance to see fireballs created by debris from Comet 2P/Encke burning up in Earth's atmosphere.

If skies are clear during this upcoming week, be sure to take a few moments to gaze upward. You just might be lucky and catch a glimpse of a spectacular sky sight — a Taurid meteor.

During the third week of October, the meteor display spawned by the debris shed by Halley reaches its peak: The Orionid meteor shower.

The Draconid meteor shower will be active from Oct. 6 to Oct. 10, reaching its peak on Monday (Oct. 9) under a fairly dark moon.

The new moon glows in the sky above Turkey with the reflected light of Earth shining upon it in gorgeous photos by astrophotographer Miguel Claro.

A stunning bright-green fireball was captured by a phone camera in a playground in Turkey.