The Aurigids meteor shower
Key facts
- Peak
- around 31 August to 1 September
- Active
- about 28 August to 5 September
- Rate at peak (ZHR)
- about 6; brief outbursts in 1935, 1986, 1994 and 2007
- Speed
- 66 km/s
- Radiant
- Auriga (between Capella and the star Beta Aurigae)
- Parent body
- Comet C/1911 N1 (Kiess)
Dates shift slightly from year to year. This year's peak is in the events calendar, and the meteor-shower planner shows how high the radiant climbs from where you live, night by night.
The Aurigids are a small, fast shower at the end of summer with a history of brief, unexpected outbursts, one of which was successfully predicted and watched from aircraft.
The parent comet. Comet C/1911 N1 was discovered in July 1911 by Carl Kiess at Lick Observatory in California. It is a long-period comet that takes roughly two thousand years to orbit the Sun. Because Earth meets dust released at only a few of its rare returns, the shower is normally weak.
Outbursts. Short bursts of activity, with rates equivalent to 30 to 40 meteors an hour, were reported in 1935, 1986 and 1994. Each lasted only an hour or so and was seen by very few observers. Later calculations showed that these bursts came from the dust trail the comet left at its last return before 1911, about two thousand years earlier, which lies across Earth's path.
Forecasters predicted that Earth would pass through the centre of that trail on 1 September 2007. Research aircraft flew over California and Nevada to watch above any cloud, and radio observers in the UK, Canada and Belgium monitored the event. The outburst arrived within minutes of the predicted time, at about 11:15 Universal Time, lasting about an hour and a half, with rates briefly reaching around a hundred an hour. Many meteors were bright, and some fireballs were recorded. The success was an important test of the methods used to forecast showers from long-period comets.
What to expect. In a normal year, about six fast meteors an hour at best. Aurigids are swift and often leave short trains.
Viewing from the UK. Auriga rises in the north-east late in the evening at the end of August and is high before dawn, so the early morning hours are best. By the end of August, British nights are properly dark again.
Viewing worldwide. This is mainly a northern hemisphere shower. From southern latitudes the radiant rises late and stays low.
Viewing tips
- Watch in the hours before dawn, when Auriga is high in the east.
- Find Capella, the bright yellow star of Auriga, to locate the radiant.
- Check forecasts for outbursts, which last only about an hour.
- Expect fast meteors that often leave brief trains.
- Enjoy the first properly dark nights after the summer twilight season.
Read about the parent: Comet Kiess, and the other comets behind meteor showers.