Meteor showers, a supermoon and Mercury: What to watch in the night sky

You'll have a chance to see two meteor showers this weekend.

Kelly Beatty, senior editor at Sky & Telescope, joined WBUR's Morning Edition to tell us how to look for these and other wonders in the night sky.

What meteor showers are happening?

Two meteor showers — the Taurids and the Leonids — will be visible this weekend.

"They have these names because as you look up into the sky, those are the constellations, Taurus and Leo, that these meteors seem to radiate from as Earth plows into the little particles," Beatty said.

The Leonids peak on Saturday night and the Taurids peaked earlier this week.

When can I see the meteor showers? 

Conditions to see the meteor showers are mixed this weekend.

The Taurids can be seen in the evening "because Taurids comes up over the horizon as soon as it gets dark," Beatty said. But to see the Leonids, you'll have to wait up until after midnight.

Beatty says both of the meteor showers are "relatively weak" so expect to see "five or six per minute if you're really, really lucky," he said.

The full moon on Friday night — the last chance to glimpse a supermoon this year — adds extra light in the sky, washing out the faintest meteors.

The Taurid meteor showers are very broad and could last weeks. Beatty said it started in October and will last well into November. So if you don't see them this weekend, give it another try later in the week when the moon is less bright.

What's the best way to view them? 

You don't need any special equipment — just your two eyes.

Find a spot that's as dark as possible. Look in the opposite direction of the full moon, Beatty suggests.

"The, the darker your, your environment, the better you'll be able to see," he said.

Let your eyes get 10 to 15 minutes to adjust to the darkness, then "just sit back and be patient."

What else can I see in the night sky right now? 

You should be able to see Venus, and Beatty said this week is also a great time to glimpse Mercury.

On a clear evening, look west. "The planet Venus will be low in the sky over the horizon after sunset," Beatty said. "It'll be blazingly bright."

Then measure "two fists" to the lower right of Venus, about 45 minutes after sunset, to catch sight of Mercury.