A Field Notes guide to November's second Taurid wave — November 11, 2026. This guide includes a few affiliate links for gear and lodging we recommend — see our disclosure for details.

Most years, the Taurids are a quiet, easy-to-skip footnote on the meteor calendar. Then, roughly every seven years, they are not. Astronomers tracking the stream have documented occasional "swarm years," when Earth passes through a denser filament of ancient debris and an ordinarily sleepy shower suddenly produces a noticeable jump in fireballs, as it did in 2015 and again in 2022. Nobody is predicting a swarm year for 2026. But nobody fully predicted the earlier ones either until the fireball counts started climbing, which is part of what makes a shower this modest worth a glance even in an off year.

Quick Facts About the Taurids

PEAK NIGHT | November 11 to 12, 2026

RADIANT | Constellation Taurus, slightly northeast of the Southern Taurids radiant

PEAK RATE | About 5 meteors per hour, with a strong share of bright, slow fireballs

PARENT BODY | Asteroid 2004 TG10, believed to be a fragment of Comet Encke

MOON CONDITION | Waxing crescent, only about 7 percent full — dark, favorable skies

BEST VIEWING WINDOW | Evening through midnight, southern sky

BEST HEMISPHERE | Visible from both hemispheres, favoring the Northern Hemisphere

About the Northern Taurids

The Northern Taurids trace back not to a comet directly, but to an asteroid, 2004 TG10, believed to be a large chunk broken away from Comet Encke. Together with the Southern Taurids, it forms part of what astronomers call the Encke Complex, the scattered remains of a much larger comet that is thought to have disintegrated between ten thousand and thirty thousand years ago.

Because the Northern and Southern branches share a common origin, they behave similarly in the sky: slow, at only about 29 kilometers per second, and prone to producing memorable fireballs rather than a steady stream of faint streaks. Activity from both branches often overlaps in early to mid-November, meaning a night spent watching in this window can occasionally catch meteors from either stream.

✨ One More Thing

Because the Northern Taurids' radiant sits high in the sky for much of the Northern Hemisphere's autumn night, and because a New Moon falls on November 9, just two nights before peak, 2026 offers an unusually dark stretch of sky for this shower. Astronomers consider ideal dark-sky conditions rare enough for any single shower that when they coincide, even a modest shower is worth the trip outside.

Best Time and Direction to Look

As with the Southern Taurids, there is no need to wait until the early morning hours. The radiant in Taurus rises to a comfortable viewing height by mid-evening and stays well placed through midnight, making this an accessible shower for viewers unwilling or unable to stay up until dawn.

Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, not only near Taurus itself, so a wide, unobstructed horizon serves better than fixating on one constellation. Because rates are low, patience matters more than positioning. A slow, bright Taurid fireball is worth the wait.

Worth packing: A near-moonless November sky like this one is a genuine bonus for wide-field astrophotography beyond the meteors themselves. A fast, wide lens such as the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 will pull in the Milky Way and Taurus together in the same frame, so even a quiet night for meteors can still be a rewarding one for photography.

Photographing the Northern Taurids

The technique here is nearly identical to the Southern Taurids: a wide, fast lens on a sturdy tripod, manual focus locked to infinity before full dark, and a 15 to 20 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 1600 to 3200, fired continuously with an intervalometer through the evening. Because Taurid meteors move slowly, they are easier to catch clearly in a single frame than fast showers like the Leonids or Orionids.

The real advantage in 2026 is the sky itself. With the moon just 7 percent full, this is one of the darkest nights of the month, which means background stars and the Milky Way will show up far better in your frames than they would under typical November moonlight, even if the meteor count itself stays modest.

Best Places to Experience the Northern Taurids

Given how rare a near-moonless November night actually is, these picks lean toward genuinely dark locations rather than convenience alone — a certified reserve, a New Moon dark-sky park, and a reminder that this particular week rewards travel more than most Taurid nights do.

Enchantment Resort, Sedona, Arizona

Set within Sedona's red rock canyons and certified International Dark Sky community, this property offers protected, low-light-pollution skies within easy reach of a major airport. Visible from both hemispheres, with especially favorable conditions for Northern Hemisphere guests.

A New Moon dark-sky park

Given how rare a near-moonless November night is, any certified International Dark Sky Park within driving distance is worth prioritizing this particular week over a more distant, marginally darker location.

A quiet rural backyard

Because the Northern Taurids reward patience over dark-sky purity, a rural or suburban backyard with a clear view south, away from direct streetlight glare, is often good enough to catch the season's brighter fireballs.

Where to Stay

The near-moonless sky this year is rare enough that it tips the balance slightly toward travel, even for a shower this modest. Still, nobody needs to suffer for it: we offer options from full off-grid darkness down to a comfortable stay near an already-certified dark-sky community.

• Red Rock Dark-Sky Resort: [Affiliate placeholder — a certified dark-sky community property with canyon or desert views]

• Remote Dark-Sky Camp: [Affiliate placeholder — off-grid or glamping option for maximizing this rare moonless window]

• Budget-Friendly Stargazing Stay: [Affiliate placeholder — value lodging within driving distance of a dark-sky site]

What to Bring

With rates this low, the single biggest lever is honestly managing your own expectations: come for a dark, quiet night with an occasional bright reward, not a busy show, and the rest of the gear below just makes the wait more comfortable.

• A reclining chair or blanket: Long, patient viewing sessions are more comfortable lying back than craning your neck. [Gear affiliate placeholder]

• Warm layers: Mid-November nights are noticeably colder than October's; a packable mid-layer like the Arc'teryx Atom LT Hoody is a good starting point. [Gear affiliate placeholder]

• A thermos of something hot: A modest-rate shower rewards a comfortable, unhurried wait more than any piece of equipment. [Gear affiliate placeholder]

• Red light flashlight: Preserves night vision when checking a star chart or adjusting a camera. [Gear affiliate placeholder — dedicated red-light category coming soon]

Frequently Asked Questions About the Taurid Meteor Shower

Is it worth watching two Taurid showers in one month?

Yes, particularly in 2026. The Southern Taurids offer a bright, fireball-heavy peak in early November, while the Northern Taurids offer an unusually dark, nearly moonless sky just a week later. Together, they extend the fireball season across two separate viewing opportunities.

Why is the rate so low compared to other showers?

The Northern Taurids are a genuinely minor shower by hourly count, typically producing only about 5 meteors per hour even under ideal conditions. Their appeal lies in the brightness and slowness of individual meteors, not in volume.

Do I need to look toward Taurus specifically?

No. While Taurus marks the radiant, meteors can streak across any part of the sky. A wide, unobstructed view works better than staring at one spot.

What makes 2026 a good year for this shower?

A New Moon falls on November 9, just two nights before the peak, leaving the sky nearly moonless. Dark skies matter more for a modest shower like this one than for a shower producing dozens of meteors per hour.

Final Thought

The Northern Taurids will never be anyone's first recommendation for a meteor shower trip. But paired with a rare, nearly moonless November sky, they offer something a busier shower cannot: unhurried, dark, quiet hours outside, with the occasional bright reward for waiting.

[Internal link placeholder — Plan Your Taurids Trip / View the Full November Sky Calendar]

Related Events

• Southern Taurids Meteor Shower: The same debris complex's first wave, peaking November 4, 2026.

• Leonids Meteor Shower: The fastest meteors of the year follow just days later, on November 16, 2026.

• Four-Planet Alignment: Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter gather in the dawn sky on November 14, 2026.

Facts and figures in this guide are cross-checked against NASA, the International Meteor Organization, and the American Meteor Society, and updated as new forecasts are released.