Taurid meteor showers light up Arizona this week. When to look

The annual celestial show offers a chance to catch some of the brightest shooting stars of the year. A brilliant Taurid meteor streaks across the night sky over New Mexico in 2012. The annual meteor showers, known for their colorful fireballs, will reach their peaks over Arizona in November 2026.

Mike Lewinski / CC BY 2.0 /Flickr Audio By Carbonatix Wherever We're Needed. We're There. From the stories making headlines to the restaurants, music and culture that make Phoenix one of a kind, New Times is there.

Help us raise $25,000 by December 31 to keep independent local journalism going strong in 2027. Progress to goal $25,000 Skywatchers have a chance to witness a celestial spectacle in November as two meteor showers known for brilliant fireballs peak over Arizona. The Northern and Southern Taurids are currently active over and will produce slow-moving meteor that result in bright and colorful shooting stars in the night sky.

The Southern Taurids will peak on Wednesday, Nov. 4, into Thursday, Nov. 5, followed a week later by the Northern Taurids on Nov.

11 to 12. While neither shower is particularly prolific, producing only around five meteors per hour, the eye-catching nature of their shooting stars makes up for it. Think epic, Michael Bay-style fireballs that can glow green, blue or orange.

Here’s what Arizona skywatchers should know about the Taurid meteor showers in November, including the best times to watch and where to look. Art. Film.

Dance. Books. Recreation.

Even sex and dating. It’ll be fun, we promise. How ‘La Catrina’ became the iconic symbol of Día de Los Muertos Phoenix’s best Halloween costumes of 2026 are wild.

See the photos Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix offers monthly pay-what-you-can day What are the Northern and Southern Taurids? The Northern and Southern Taurids are a pair of annual meteor showers caused by debris from Comet Encke and other stellar objects. They get their names because of the fact their meteors appear to originate from two points near the constellation Taurus.

Why are Taurid meteors brighter and more colorful? Taurid meteors tend to be larger and move slower than those of other showers, according to NASA, allowing them to go deeper into the Earth’s atmosphere before burning up. The extra bulk of this cosmic debris can produce brighter, longer-lasting fireballs as they cook.

The colors come from various chemical elements in the meteors and Earth’s atmosphere, including magnesium, iron and sodium. Depending on which elements are present, Taurid shooting stars can glow green, blue, yellow or orange. What time is the meteor shower tonight?

Meteors from the Northern and Southern Taurids can be spotted after 7 p.m. as the constellation Taurus rises higher in the eastern sky. The best viewing hours for each meteor shower are between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. each night. Where can you see the Taurid meteor showers in Arizona?

Areas with the darkest sky possible and unobstructed views of the eastern sky are your best bet. In other words, try getting as far from the lights of metro Phoenix and other urban areas and go to the outskirts. In the Valley, areas like Gold Canyon, Queen Creek and San Tan Valley are each ideal because you won’t have to look through light pollution.

Help Us Keep Showing Up From breaking news and investigative reporting to the restaurants, music and culture that make Phoenix unique, we’re there. This article is free to read, but isn’t free to produce. Help us raise $25,000 by December 31 to keep telling the stories that matter in 2027.

Select how much you'd like to contribute /month Support Us Today Benjamin Leatherman is a staff writer for Phoenix New Times where he focuses primarily on arts, culture, music and nightlife. He joined New Times in 2003. Prior to that, he contributed to magazines such as Tips & Tricks and The Wrestler .

Benjamin has earned multiple awards from the Arizona Press Club including an award for sports enterprise reporting in 2009 and an award for statewide arts reporting in 2014. He holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Loading latest posts... Loading trending posts...