Thank you! Fantastic.

Meteor Mark

It will be in the AM on November 17th, so anytime after 12:01 AM to Dawn. You may be able to catch a sneak preview on Sunday Night, but the peak is November 17th and then maybe an encore performance on November 18th in the morning too. The Leonids are active until November 25th this year.

The Leonids could be a masterpiece this year, or a complete dud because of the Moon being 74% illuminated and very close to the Constellation Leo which is in the East, sadly.

Let’s hope this year is a happening in the sky! You know what I am going to say… “Keep Your Head Up!”

- Meteor Mark

P.S. This is a little East Coast Map, hope it helps…and as an added surprise, The Planet Saturn is in view under Leo!

I live in Toronto On. Bright white ball of light falling straight down, super fast, lasting only a second or two. It appeared to be to the west and south of the city, Somewhere over the great lakes maybe?

Would you believe me if I told you that most of the “shooting stars” you’ve seen can be about half the size of a dime (some are as large as a grain of sand) and the fireballs that you saw could be the size of a golf ball?

The reason they cause amazing flashes that are viewable is because of their super speed (over 40,000 mph).

Every day thousands of dust particles hit our atmosphere and cause meteors that may or may not be seen by the naked eye.

The fireball that you saw near Orion may have been a Taurids Fireball. If you can remember to trace its path back to the constellation Taurus then it was.

Meteors can be seen anywhere in the sky and as far as other scientists and I know, there are no really huge Earth threatening objects due to hit Earth this month or next year. Some speculate that in the year 2012 a big one will come close, so I may make a few posts about that just to talk about it, but most of the objects that you see disintegrate 60 miles up in the atmosphere and don’t actually hit Earth. Though occasionally they do and become meteorites.

You may want to view the Meteor Glossary on this site for more information and “Car Sized Meteor Falls Toward Earth.”

The debris you speak of is usually associated with the path and orbits of comets. When the Earth passes through the orbits of comets whether they are close to Earth or not, there is a path or trail of dust and rocks. This creates the annual meteor showers that are happening now and each month. The Taurids Meteor Shower peaked November 5th and is known for fireballs, the Leonids Metoer shower which peaks on November 17th has been know to produce thousands of bright meteors. Both the Taurids and Leonids are occuring now and are associated with the comet Encke and the Temple-Tuttle comet respectively.

Don’t worry, just enjoy them they’re beautiful, free and exciting!

Keep your head up!

- Meteor Mark

Other than you seeing two electrical transformers exploding in your area coincidentally in the same night, I would like to say that you may have seen a Taurids or Leonids Fireball.

The greenish/blue may strongly suggest that it is however from the Leonids Meteor Shower and the speed you described it as “very fast” also suggests that too.

The Taurids Fireballs usually streak relatively slower and most viewers have reported glowing orange like the color of a pumpkin.

If you can remember what constellation you may have seen it near, this will also help to find out what you saw. Lastly, Meteors and Fireballs do’t always streak down in the sky, their path can be just about any angle.

Thanks for your comment! I hope this helps you so far.

- Meteor Mark

It is possible it was a Taurid Fireball. Try remembering where you saw it and track the trail back to a point in the sky. If you see it near the constellation Taurus, then it was a Taurid Meteor! Consider yourself lucky they are kind of rare. If you need help locating Taurus, you can use the Mini Astro Viewer on our page home page. Taurus is located above the constellation Orion.

Please Read This Post: Taurids Meteor Shower

Let me know your thoughts, and Keep Your Head Up!

Thanks for your comment.

-Meteor Mark