Quality over quantity -- that's the motto of the Taurids meteor shower, which peaks this week.

The Tuarids don't set any records for number of meteors seen per hour, but nearly every year the shower produces a handful of sizable fireballs. Fireballs are simply really bright meteors.

According to the International Astronomical Union, a fireball is "a meteor brighter than any of the planets."

The Taurids arrive each year in late October and early November. The Taurids appear in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres -- the North Taurids and the South Taurids. In the Northern Hemisphere they appear to originate from the Taurus and the Bull constellation.

"The annual Taurid meteor shower is going on right now, and we are seeing steady activity in our meteor cameras," Bill Cooke, head of the NASA Meteoroid Environments Office, said in a recent blog post. "Individuals should not be surprised if they see a bright meteor or fireball over the next few nights."

The Taurids are the result of small pieces of dust and ice left by the tail of the comet Encke. As the comet orbits the sun, it leaves a trail of debris which each year the Earth passes through. Every few years, the Earth passes through an especially rich portion of the debris field.

This year, the Taurids are expected to produce some especially large fireballs.

At night, the meteors will streak upwards from the eastern sky. In the morning, the fireballs will move up from the western sky.

"Unlike most meteors, the Taurids are not fast," the American Meteor Society said. "The fireball class meteors are usually vividly colored and may fragment before they completely disintegrate."