November 5th, 2005 | 
Author: [ Reading time: 1 - 2 minutes ]
Source from the Times-Standard Online
Lights in the sky around the globe
John Driscoll
OK. Let’s put this to rest.
Apparently Sunday night’s fireball in the skies over Northern California — of which we’ve had abundant reports — wasn’t the only one. In fact, several people have now reported seeing other fireballs on Monday and Tuesday nights.
Now, NASA is saying brilliant meteors are being seen around the globe. So what’s going on?
Apparently Earth is passing through a “river of space dust” associated with the comet Encke, as it does each year at this time, NASA says. But unlike in most years, the Taurid meteor shower is more intense this time around.
A computer model in 1993 predicted this year might be a special year for Taurid meteors. The meteors are larger than usual this time around, as large as pebbles or small stones, NASA said, though some may be larger. They travel thousands of miles per hour and when they strike the atmosphere can produce a fireball as bright as the moon, NASA says.
The best place to look for the meteors is in the constellation Taurus, which rises in the east at sunset. The show could last up to two weeks, but rain forecast for the next several days might derail your chances of seeing it.
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