Taurid meteor shower seen in SA
Stargazers are in for a special treat this week, as the Taurid meteor shower reaches its peak, producing bright fireballs in the night sky around the world.
Accuweather.com's Brian Lada says this year is a particularly good year for viewing the Taurids, as the peak of the meteor shower coincides with the new moon, occurring the night of November 11 into the 12th.
He says the new moon will help limit the amount of light pollution, making the shooting stars appear even brighter than they would during any other phase of the moon.
Lada says the Taurid meteor shower is an annual occurrence that typically lasts from late October into late November as the Earth passes through the debris trail left behind by Comet Encke.
Reports were received of a bright light in the sky over parts of the Eastern Cape last night, but we could not get any confirmation that it was indeed a Taurid.
Manager at the Cape Town Planetarium, Theo Ferreira explains when the showers are expected to make appearance.
"For example the orionids are visible from October 2 to November 7 and you would see anything up to 30 an hour. That's between midnight and 4am.
"In the morning the Southern Taurids are visible from October 3 to November 25. Then you can see as many as ten every hour," he said.
Jaco Wagner of Cambria, near Patensie, said they saw a bright light in the sky last night.
"We saw a big, bright light which looked like a meteor or something. Two minutes after that we saw it go into a ravine here in Cambria and it disappeared. We then heard a loud bang," he said.
Meanwhile, the search at the possible site where a meteorite may have crashed has been called off.
(File photo)