Southern Taurids

Lore & Background

The Southern Taurids originated from Comet Encke, a short-period comet. The Taurid stream is believed to be a remnant of a disrupted 40-km-class comet from about 10,000 years ago, breaking into several pieces and releasing material by normal cometary activity, mass loss via YORP spin-up, or occasionally by close encounters with the tidal force of Earth or other planets. The stream is the largest in the inner Solar System and is spread out in space, causing Earth to take several weeks to pass through it, resulting in an extended period of meteor activity.

The Southern Taurids are active from about September 23 to December 8. Due to gravitational perturbations of planets, especially Jupiter, the Taurids have spread out over time, allowing separate segments labeled the Northern Taurids and Southern Taurids to become observable. Essentially these are two cross sections of a single, broad, continuous stream in space. The meteors move slowly across the sky at about 28 kilometers per second (17 mi/s), and if larger than a pebble, may become bolides as bright as the Moon and leave behind smoke trails.

The Taurid stream has a cycle of activity that peaks roughly every 2,500 to 3,000 years, when the core of the stream passes nearer to Earth. The next peak is expected around 3000 AD. The Taurids also have more frequent peaks which may result from a heavier concentration of material in the stream, which only encounter Earth during some passes.

Reader's Guide

The Southern Taurids are significant as part of the largest meteoroid stream in the inner Solar System. Their extended activity period, from September 23 to December 8, allows for weeks of observation, unlike the briefer periods of other showers. The shower is associated with Comet Encke, and the stream is believed to be remnants of a disrupted 40-km-class comet from about 10,000 years ago. The Southern Taurids produce slow-moving meteors at about 28 km/s, the slowest impact speed among well-known annual meteor showers. They are also made up of weightier material, pebbles as opposed to dust grains, which can produce bright bolides. Notable fireballs include a –17 magnitude bolide over Poland in 1995, estimated at 900 kg, and the Halloween fireballs witnessed in 2005. A lunar impact event on November 7, 2005, recorded by NASA scientists, was likely part of the Taurid meteor shower, possibly the first photographic record of such a strike. The stream's structure includes separate Northern and Southern segments, and daytime showers (Beta Taurids and Zeta Perseids) are encountered in June/July. Astronomers Duncan Steel and Bill Napier have suggested the Beta Taurids could be the cause of the Tunguska event of June 30, 1908.

Did You Know?

• They are associated with Comet Encke and have the slowest impact speed of annual well-known meteor showers.
• A –17 magnitude Taurid bolide over Poland in 1995 was estimated to be 900 kg and perhaps a meter in diameter.