The Taurid meteor showers are in full swing. Take a trip outside in the nights ahead and for the next week to see shooting stars, reaching out across the sky. There are two showers, though for you and I, it really doesn't matter. The South Taurid Meteor Shower reaches its peak in the nights ahead, while the North Taurid Meteor Shower reaches its peak in about a week. They both coincide together.

The meteors appear to come from about the same place, the zodiacal constellatioin Taurus, for which it is named. You might see as many as ten meteors in an hour of viewing, though don't count on it. We just use the time, as an excuse to be outside in a dark star-filled night and look at the celestial canopy overhead. 

The constellation Taurus is rising in the east well after sunset. The best time to see meteors coming from the constellation is late. Midnight is best. 

The meteors are associated dust and debris from Comet 2P/Encke, a nearby periodic comet that circles the Sun every three years. It doesn't get very far from the Sun, reaching not much farther out than the orbit of Jupiter.

The Super Full Moon on Wednesday and the nights leading up and following will interfere with your seeing the faintest of shooting stars, but don't be discouraged. Taurid meteor showers do produce an occasional fireball meteor.