The Kappa Ursae Majorids meteor shower
Key facts
- Peak
- around 5–6 November
- Active
- late October to mid-November
- Rate at peak (ZHR)
- usually under 1; a short outburst in 2009
- Speed
- about 65 km/s
- Radiant
- Ursa Major (below the bowl of the Plough, near the border with Leo Minor)
- Parent body
- Unknown
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 Kappa Ursae Majorids are a small, fast November shower that announced itself with a brief outburst in 2009. They peak at the same time as the Southern Taurids but could hardly be more different: swift meteors from high in the north instead of slow ones from Taurus.
Discovery. On 5 November 2009, Japanese video observers recorded a short burst of fast meteors from Ursa Major. Their cameras, linked in networks that measure meteor orbits, showed the meteors had nearly identical orbits. Further video data from Japan and the United States showed weak activity in other years, and the shower was added to the international list.
The radiant. The radiant lies below the bowl of the Plough, near the border with the faint constellation Leo Minor. From the UK it rises in the north-east in the late evening and is highest in the hours before dawn.
The meteors. At about 65 kilometres per second, the meteoroids are meeting Earth almost head on, as is typical for long-period comets on steeply tilted or backward orbits. No parent has been identified.
What to expect. In most years, fewer than one meteor an hour, so the shower is mainly of interest to camera networks. Bursts like that of 2009 may recur when Earth crosses denser parts of the stream, though none has been forecast.
Viewing from the UK. Good, as the radiant is high before dawn. Early November nights are long, and the Taurids, with their slow fireballs, are active at the same time, so a session can be rewarding even if the Kappa Ursae Majorids are quiet.
Viewing worldwide. This is a northern shower. From the southern hemisphere the radiant is low or below the horizon.
Viewing tips
- Watch in the last hours before dawn, when the Plough is high in the north-east.
- Look below the Plough's bowl, towards Leo Minor.
- Tell them from Taurids by speed: these are fast, Taurids are slow.
- Run a camera in early November to catch any burst.
- Note exact times of any group of fast meteors from Ursa Major.