As Coloradans looked up to the sky to witness the vibrant appearance of the aurora borealis this week, some noticed a bonus celestial happening – meteors streaking across the sky.

Believe it or not, there are actually three different meteor showers taking place amid the Northern Lights excitement – the Southern Taurids, the Northern Taurids, and the Leonids. While the Southern Taurids peaked on the night of November 4 and the Northern Taurids peaked on the night of November 11, the Leonids will peak on the night of November 16 to 17, when the moon is just 9% full.

Those looking for Northern Lights may be spotting meteors from all three showers, with the duo of Taurids particularly noteworthy for ‘fireballs.’ That said, the Leonids peak is sure to please, too, given how dark the sky will be amid the lack of moonlight. The Leonids meteor shower doesn’t produce a huge number of meteors most years compared to some other events – about 10 to 15 an hour if you’re lucky – but given how dark it will be during ‘peak night’ this year, if there’s a lack of cloud cover, the chances of spotting a ‘shooting star’ will be high.

It’s also worth noting that on a good year of the Leonids, the shower can produce thousands of meteors a minute, as occurred in 1966. Experts, however, don’t expect that to happen again until 2099.

Either way, between the three ongoing meteor showers (S. Taurids ends Nov. 20, N. Taurids ends Dec. 10, and Leonids ends Nov. 30, per the American Meteor Society) there’s a good chance of spotting a ‘shooting star’ over the next few days during dark overnight hours, especially on the night of November 16 to 17 when the Leonids are peaking and the moon is dim.

Find more information on the American Meteor Society website or on EarthSky.org.

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