Space

Watch Three Planets and the Moon Align This Weekend During a Meteor Shower

Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Nov 07, 2015 07:23 AM EST

This week, you're in for a spectacular sky show. Three bright planets and the waning crescent moon will be present in night skies. Not only that, but the ongoing Taurid meteor shower may even show you a few fireballs.

On Saturday, Nov. 7, Venus, Mars and the moon will appear to crowd in a relatively small spot in the sky. The moon will be aligned with Venus, and a much dimmer Mars.

Early on Nov. 6, skywatchers with clear weather could also see Jupiter in the southeastern sky sitting just to the left and slightly above the crescent moon.

This isn't the only thing you'll see hit night skies. The Taurid meteor shower is expected to be far more active than usual. This means that as you look up in the night sky, you should keep a watch for "shooting stars," which are bits of debris burning up in Earth's atmosphere. In fact, models show that Earth is passing through larger debris, which means there may be the chance of fireballs in the sky.

So what does this mean? This weekend be sure to look up. You should still be able to see the planets during the night, though they'll drift apart as the days go on. In addition, the meteor shower should be active until next week.

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