Taurids

meteor shower · space · Halloween · astronomy

Halloween fireballs. The Taurids happen in late October and early November, right around Halloween, which is why people sometimes call them Halloween fireballs. You might see them streaking across the autumn sky during trick-or-treat season.

Two showers in one. The Taurids are actually two separate meteor showers that happen at nearly the same time: the Southern Taurids and the Northern Taurids. They come from different places in space but both appear to come from the same direction in the sky.

Named after Taurus. The Taurids get their name from the constellation Taurus, the Bull, where the meteors appear to radiate from when you look up at the night sky. This point where they seem to come from is called their radiant point.

Slowest meteors around. The Taurids have the slowest impact speed of almost all the well-known annual meteor showers because they come from Comet Encke, which has a very short orbit. This means they're moving more gently compared to most other shooting stars.

Comet and asteroid origins. The Southern Taurids come from Comet Encke, while the Northern Taurids probably come from a large piece of that same comet that broke off and became asteroid 2004 TG10. Both fragments orbit the sun in similar paths.