November is the month when many anglers, and people in general, tend to stop going out much after dark. I have a long track record of trying to squeeze as many surf trips as possible out of the month of November because, after Thanksgiving, the surf season comes to an abrupt halt in the areas I fish. November has been a productive month for me, with many epic nights in the surf, some great catches of brown trout and swimbaiting for largemouth bass. I can’t think of a good reason not to be out after dark during the eleventh month. But there are many more reasons, other than the great nighttime fishing opportunities in fresh and salt water, to put yourself out there.
I feel like I see so many things that not many ‘normal’ people see because I am out so much at night. Something I pay very close attention to are meteor showers and November is a phenomenal month for shooting stars. We have the Northern Taurids and the Leonids peaking this month. The Taurids peaked on November 12 and the Leonids will peak on November 16 and 17.
These meteor showers get their names from the constellations that they appear to originate from, known as their ‘radiant’ by astronomers; the Taurids disperse from Taurus and the Leonids from Leo. I won’t lie and say I know exactly where these constellations are in the sky, but if it’s something you’d like to know, there are apps and websites that will dial you right in on where they can be found. You may also be interested to know that these meteor showers occur when the earth passes through debris trails left by comets or asteroids; the Leonids are the product of the comet Temple-Tuttle which completes its orbit around the sun every 33 years. The Taurids occur when the earth passes through a field of ‘grit like’ debris left by an asteroid known as 2004 TG10.
Even though you may not be out on the peak nights of these showers, these celestial events last about 30 days on average, and you can expect to see somewhere between 3 and 10 meteors per hour this month on any given night, with those numbers coming close to doubling during their peaks. The Leonids have a history of producing meteor storms that produce upwards of 1,000 shooting stars per hour, the last time that happened was 2001. I witnessed the peak of that storm and it was absolutely amazing! Scientists predict that we won’t see another storm like that one until 2099. Pretty sure I’ll miss that one.
The Taurids have a history of producing extremely bright fireballs. These are meteors that burn so brightly that they illuminate the sky and land around you, some may also appear to burst or break into pieces. About every seven years we see an uptick in fireballs and the last ‘fireball swarm’ was in 2015, so 2022 has a good chance of producing several bright meteors per night around the peak. I have a hunch that the Taurids may overachieve this year, I saw more than a dozen Taurids on October 30 in under two hours.
One of the coolest things about these meteor showers and their overlap in November is that you can actually tell if you’re seeing a Taurid or a Leonid. Taurids tend to be larger and slower-moving, they may appear to be green, white or blue, with a long, faint trail. They also take longer to burn out, seeing Taurids that last 1 to 3 seconds as they ‘rainbow’ across the sky is not uncommon. Leonids are faster moving, sometimes seeming to move at supersonic speeds, but typically not lasting more than a second. They feature a sparkly trail that hangs in the sky for a second or so after the meteor burns out.
Whether you’re fishing, walking the dog or taking the kids or grandkids out for a night of stargazing, November is a great month to be looking up. And you have to admit, it’s pretty cool that you can tell if you’re seeing a Leonid or a Taurid. Make time to get out there on a clear night and keep your eyes on the sky.
