Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Rebecca Daly

Lucky stargazers may catch a glimpse of rare 'fireball' meteors in Irish skies this week

Eagle-eyed stargazers may get a lucky glance at meteor showers taking place all this week.

One person described seeing a “flash of blue light” bolt across the night sky as part of the event.

This week, a Taurid meteor shower will be visible each night and will peak on Friday and Saturday, November 4 and 5.

Read more: Leo Varadkar quotes Pope as he slams priest who said he's going to hell for being gay

Members of the public could catch a glimpse of the shower at different intervals throughout the coming days.

One Irish person saw a particularly spectacular meteor on Tuesday night.

Taking to Reddit, they said: “I was outside and happened to be looking at the stars and out of nowhere, a flash of blue light just bolted across the sky. It was there for maybe a second and then gone.”

Irish astronomer, David Moore said that some people may catch a glimpse of these impressive fireballs or meteors that the user described, but unfortunately, not everyone will be lucky enough.

He told the Irish Mirror : “This particular Taurid shower is known for producing them and it seems to do this every three to seven years.

“It happened seven years ago so we’re actually expecting there would be more fireballs than normal.

“Now, that’s not to say you’ll be watching one every minute. There might only be one or two of these big fireballs per night. They’re quite rare and that’s the treat these people on Reddit got. They were just lucky, outdoors at the right time.”

For those who are hoping to spot them in the sky over the next week, Moore recommends looking at the breaks in the clouds as the fireballs can appear anywhere and it will just be a case of whether there is a clear patch or not.

He said: “That’s the great thing about them. They can appear anywhere in the sky and in Ireland, that’s very important.

“For astronomers, we have a very simple weather forecast and it’s two words: mostly cloudy.

“So, in Ireland, about three out of four nights are totally cloudy. You’ll see nothing. One in four is partially clear and only one in nine is totally clear.

“If there are clouds in the sky, look in the clear patches.”

Anyone who is lucky enough to see the spectacle is asked to report it to Astronomy Ireland, and the extremely lucky people who manage to take photos could earn themselves a place on the group’s magazine front cover.

READ NEXT:

Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.