‘Brilliant fireballs:’ meteors to shoot across Idaho night sky. Here’s when to watch

Sky watchers across California can spot a total of three meteor showers in November, with the Southern and Northern Taurid meteor showers overlapping and peaking around the same time, according to the Sacramento Bee. Space.com reported that the Taurids are relatively modest showers that typically produce a handful of meteors per hour under ideal conditions, but they are special for their tendency to produce exceptionally bright meteors. National Geographic stated that the Taurid meteor showers are not prolific, but one bright fireball can make the wait worthwhile. NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com that the Taurids are rich in fireballs that can be very brilliant, though their rates absolutely suck. While the Southern Taurids hit their peak on November 5, the Northern Taurid meteor shower hits its stride from Wednesday, November 11, through Thursday, November 12, as reported by the Sacramento Bee. Space.com noted that the best time to see the Northern Taurids is at midnight when the shower's radiant is high in the night sky. Viewers do not need to look directly at the Taurus constellation because shooting stars can be found all over the night sky. AccuWeather reported that visibility would be at a 10-mile distance in Sacramento with 11 percent cloud coverage as the shower peaks, while the National Weather Service forecast clear skies in Sacramento and Modesto on Wednesday night. Stargazers hoping to view shooting stars and fireballs during the Taurid meteor shower should head away from the city, as National Geographic recommends locations offering unobstructed views of the horizon, such as mountains, moorlands, deserts, and remote islands. In addition to the Taurids, the Sacramento Bee reported that the Leonid meteor shower hits its stride in mid- to late November, reaching its height on the nights of Tuesday, November 17, and Wednesday, November 18, and producing up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak. Separate from the meteor showers, Starlust.org reported that a bright fireball was seen streaking across the skies off the southern coast of Florida during the evening hours of November 8, 2026. NASA confirmed that this meteor, designated as 20261109-030003, exploded at 10:00 p.m. EST above a region northwest of Key West, according to Starlust.org. At the time of writing, over 160 eyewitness reports from Florida and Cuba had reached the American Meteor Society. Starlust.org noted that the object was caused by a small, two-foot fragment of an asteroid that was first spotted above a point in the Gulf due west of Islamorada, traveling southwest at 54,500 miles per hour before disintegrating above the ocean northwest of Key West. Starlust.org reported that the event was recorded by the Geostationary Lightning Mapper onboard the GOES-18 and GOES-19 satellites, which are part of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites-R series program operated collaboratively by NOAA and NASA.