The Southern Taurids meteor shower
Key facts
- Peak
- broad maximum from about 10 October to early November (often quoted around 5 November)
- Active
- about 10 September to 20 November
- Rate at peak (ZHR)
- about 5
- Speed
- 27 km/s
- Radiant
- Taurus (south-west of the Pleiades)
- Parent body
- Comet 2P/Encke
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 Southern Taurids are a slow, steady shower that runs for weeks through the autumn. Their rates are low, but they have a special reputation: in some years they produce an unusual number of bright, slow fireballs, which is why people sometimes call them the "Halloween fireballs".
The Southern Taurids are one half of a larger family. Together with the Northern Taurids, they come from a broad, ancient stream of debris known as the Taurid Complex. Over thousands of years, the gravity of the planets has split the stream into two branches. The Earth passes through the southern branch first and the northern branch a little later, so the two showers overlap in late October and early November.
The parent comet. The Taurids are linked to Comet 2P/Encke. It was first seen in 1786 by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain, and in 1819 the German astronomer Johann Encke worked out that sightings in different years were the same object returning. That made it only the second comet, after Halley's, known to come back. Encke's Comet has the shortest orbital period of any well-known comet, about 3.3 years. Many astronomers think Encke and the whole Taurid Complex may be the remains of a much larger comet that broke up thousands of years ago, which would explain why the stream is so wide and contains some larger particles.
Swarm years. Most years the Taurids are quiet. But some of the debris is held in a clump by the gravity of Jupiter, in what astronomers call a resonance: the clump goes round the Sun seven times for every two orbits of Jupiter. In years when the Earth passes near this clump, the number of fireballs rises noticeably. Displays in 2005 and 2015 were especially memorable, with bright fireballs seen across Europe and North America.
What to expect. The ZHR is only about 5, so even at the best of times you might see a few Taurids an hour. They are slow, entering the atmosphere at about 27 km/s, and they often look yellowish or orange. Because the maximum is long and flat, there is no single night to aim for; any clear, moonless night from mid-October to early November gives a chance.
Viewing from the UK. The UK is very well placed. Taurus rises in the east in the early evening during autumn and is high in the south around midnight to 1 a.m., so Taurids can be seen through most of the night. Look for the Pleiades, a small, misty cluster of stars, also called the Seven Sisters. The southern radiant lies below and to the right of it from Britain, towards the boundary with Cetus and Aries early in the season, drifting eastwards as the weeks pass.
Viewing worldwide. The radiant lies close to the ecliptic, the Sun's path across the sky, so the Southern Taurids can be seen from both hemispheres, with similar rates. In the southern hemisphere Taurus is lower and appears in the northern sky, but plenty of observers there still catch Taurid fireballs.
Rates are low, so patience is rewarded. A camera left running can capture fireballs you might otherwise miss.
Viewing tips
- Watch on any clear, moonless night from mid-October to early November.
- Find the Pleiades cluster, then look around the area below it for the radiant.
- Look out for slow, yellow-orange fireballs, the Taurids' speciality.
- Watch around midnight, when Taurus is highest in the south.
- Keep a camera running on a tripod, because fireballs come rarely and without warning.
Read about the parent: Comet Encke, and the other comets behind meteor showers.