EarthSky\u2019s 2026 lunar calendar shows the moon phase for every day of the year. Get yours today!<\/p>\n
Few meteors \u2013 but fireballs!<\/h3>\n
We\u2019re now in what some astronomers call the meteor drought<\/em> time of year. The next major meteor shower won\u2019t come until April, with the Lyrids. But \u2013 if you watch, and especially if you\u2019re under dark skies \u2013 you might spot a fireball, or an especially bright meteor, from now through April. These are the legendary spring fireballs<\/em>. In his Meteor Activity Outlook for early February, Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society (AMS) wrote: <\/p>\n \u2026 a bright fireball may light up the sky. February is the start of the evening fireball season, when an abundance of fireballs seems to occur, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere. This lasts well into April. Sporadic rates are near maximum for those viewing from the Southern Hemisphere.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n NASA meteor expert William Cooke got us all hooked on spring fireballs, beginning in 2011, when he reported: <\/p>\n Spring is fireball season. For reasons we don\u2019t fully understand, the rate of bright meteors climbs during the weeks around the vernal equinox.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n NASA said in 2011 that the appearance rate of fireballs can increase by 10-30 percent in the weeks around the March equinox. And indeed 2016 was a good year for spring fireballs, according to a March 9, 2016, article by Vincent Perlerin of the American Meteor Society. Perlerin reported on six major fireball events over the U.S. between March 2 and March 8, 2016. <\/p>\n In 2017, Robert Lunsford of the AMS told EarthSky that the time to watch for spring fireballs comes a month or so before the vernal equinox (around March 20-21 each year). He wrote:<\/p>\n [Spring fireballs] can be easily picked out from the list of events in our fireball table. I believe that there is no doubting the existence of these fireballs. They are the result of the antapex radiant being located at its highest point of the year in the the evening sky. I\u2019m certain the same thing occurs in the Southern Hemisphere during the months of August through October. Unfortunately there are far fewer people to report them from down there. The overall results of the AMS fireball totals since 2005 display a spike in February, a month normally known for low meteor rates. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n So spring fireballs \u2013 from February to April in the Northern Hemisphere and perhaps also from August to October in the Southern Hemisphere \u2013 may be caused by the fact that the antapex radiant<\/em> lies highest above the horizon this time of year during the evening hours at these times. What is the antapex radiant<\/em>? You might have heard the term apex of the sun\u2019s way to describe the direction our sun is moving through space, with respect to the stars.<\/p>\n Our sun and family of planets travel more or less toward the star Vega in the constellation Lyra; and that is the apex of the sun\u2019s way. The antapex<\/em> is the direction in space opposite the apex of the sun\u2019s way; it\u2019s the direction opposite our sun\u2019s motion through space.<\/p>\n A NASA website suggested:<\/p>\n The reason [for spring fireballs] is still unknown, but one hypothesis is that more space debris litters this section of Earth\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n What to look for<\/strong>:\u00a0Fireballs are meteors brighter than the planet Venus.\u00a0 Meteors are mostly rocky debris from space. They typically range in size from a few feet (about a meter) to smaller than a grain of sand. As these objects enter Earth\u2019s atmosphere, they vaporize due to friction with the air. <\/p>\n NASA scientists at one time set up a network of ground cameras in order to track and record video of meteors flaming overhead. The footage could be used to pinpoint a meteor\u2019s orbit and origin. The video below \u2013 which is from 2011 \u2013 explains more:<\/p>\n\n
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Fireballs in past years<\/h3>\n
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Why fireballs in spring?<\/h3>\n
![\"Diagram:](\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2026\/02\/peak_fireball_season-diagram.jpg\")
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![\"The](\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2016\/03\/aurora-meteor-3-6-2016-Mike-Taylor-Maine-1-e1549798824800.jpg\")
Viewing tips during spring fireball season<\/h3>\n
When to look<\/strong>:\u00a0Shortly after sunset is prime time to watch for fireballs.
Location<\/strong>:\u00a0Watch under dark, clear skies away from city lights.<\/p>\nMeteors are space debris<\/h3>\n