The Northern Taurids meteor shower
Key facts
- Peak
- around 11–12 November
- Active
- about 20 October to 10 December
- Rate at peak (ZHR)
- about 5
- Speed
- 29 km/s
- Radiant
- Taurus (near the Pleiades)
- Parent body
- Comet 2P/Encke
Dates shift slightly from year to year. This year's peak is in the events calendar.
The Northern Taurids are the second branch of the great Taurid stream. They take over from the Southern Taurids as autumn turns towards winter, and the two showers overlap in late October and early November. Like their southern twin, the Northern Taurids are not numerous, but they are known for the occasional slow, brilliant fireball.
One stream, two branches. Both Taurid showers belong to the Taurid Complex, a very wide band of debris that the Earth crosses each autumn. The planets' gravity has, over thousands of years, separated it into a southern and a northern branch. The Northern Taurids' radiant lies a little further north, close to the Pleiades star cluster, and its peak comes about a week after the traditional Southern Taurid date.
The parent comet. The stream is linked to Comet 2P/Encke, which orbits the Sun about every 3.3 years, the shortest period of any well-known comet. Encke itself is fairly small, a few kilometres across, and nowhere near massive enough to have made the whole stream on its own. Many astronomers suspect the Taurid Complex is the remains of a much larger comet that broke apart thousands of years ago, with Encke as one surviving fragment. Some near-Earth asteroids also travel on Taurid-like orbits and may be pieces of the same ancestor, though which ones are truly related is still debated.
A daytime cousin. The Earth also meets the Taurid stream in June, but then the meteors come from the direction of the Sun and arrive in daylight. This daytime shower, the Beta Taurids, can only be detected by radar.
What to expect. Expect around 5 meteors an hour at most, often fewer. Northern Taurids enter the atmosphere at about 29 km/s, slow enough to watch them glide. Many are yellowish, and a few are fireballs bright enough to light up the landscape. Because the shower runs from late October to early December with a gentle maximum around 11 to 12 November, almost any clear night in that period offers a chance.
In some years, when the Earth passes near a dense clump of particles held in place by Jupiter's gravity, the Taurids produce many more fireballs than usual. Notable displays came in 2005 and 2015. If a swarm year is forecast, the Taurids are well worth watching.
Viewing from the UK. The UK is ideally placed. Taurus rises in the east early in the evening in November and reaches its highest point in the south around midnight, so you can watch from late evening onwards. The Pleiades make a handy signpost: the radiant sits nearby, and meteors traced backwards will point to that area. November nights are long and often cold, so dress warmly.
Viewing worldwide. The radiant lies near the ecliptic, so the Northern Taurids can be seen from both hemispheres. From the southern hemisphere Taurus is lower in the northern sky, but rates are still similar enough to make watching worthwhile.
The Leonids peak not long after the Northern Taurids, so a mid-November night can bring meteors from both showers. Taurids are slow and point back to Taurus, while Leonids are very fast and point back to Leo.
Viewing tips
- Use the Pleiades star cluster as a signpost for the radiant.
- Watch from late evening to the early hours, when Taurus is high in the south.
- Look for slow, yellowish meteors and the occasional bright fireball.
- Check whether a Taurid swarm year has been forecast for extra fireballs.
- Tell Taurids from Leonids in mid-November by their slower speed and direction.
Read about the parent: Comet Encke, and the other comets behind meteor showers.