The peaks of the Taurid and Alpha Monocerotid meteor showers are moon free this year, giving observers a chance to see what these two minor showers are up to. The Taurids, which peak on the 12th, are associated with Comet 2P/Enke, and typically hit a maximum ZHR of about 5. They are active from about the beginning of October through late November.
Photographic studies have revealed this shower to consist of two sub-branches, the south Taurids and the north Taurids. The first radiate from near the Pleiades while the second from near the Hyades. What make this shower more interesting are the bright fireballs that tend to occur during late October and early November. Unfortunately, the moon does interfere during that time period.
The Alpha Monocerotids, which peak on the 21st, are active from about the 15th through the 25th. This typically weak shower might have a ten-year period when rates briefly yield ZHRs in the 100s. This was observed in 1925 and 1935, and again by independent observers in 1985. In 1995 European observers were treated to an outburst hat lasted about 30 minutes, with an estimated peak ZHR of about 420, which lasted about 5 minutes. While next year might go a long way in confirming this ten-year cycle, observations this year will certainly contribute to our knowledge of the shower.
The poets and dreamers and wide-eyed star gazers among us, all three things I have never stopped being when casting my line out into the shimmering depths of the Milky Way, should set there alarms for about 4:00am each morning for the first half of the month. That way, everyone can be out in time to watch the daily dance of Venus and Jupiter in the pre-dawn sky. They are nearest each other on the mornings of the 4th and the 5th, when they are less than a degree apart. When they do this, it is always a spectacular sight.
Lower in the sky, dim Mars hopes to get noticed as well.
On the 9th, 10th, and 11th the thinning crescent moon drops into the
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