This relatively stately pace and the Taurid's brightness make them of particular interest to astro-photographers, according to the American Meteor Society.
Their name derives from the fact that the Taurids appear to radiate from the constellation Taurus the Bull. (To find Taurus, follow the three well-known stars that form the belt of Orion up to a bright, orange-red star known as Aldebaran.)
Every 2,500 to 3,000 years or so, the core of the Taurid stream passes near Earth and produces much more intense meteor showers for a few centuries, said Steel. A gap of a few centuries separates the era of intensity between Northern Taurids and Southern Taurids.
"It is about 1,000 years before the next such epoch is due," he said. "I have suggested that megalith building, for example Stonehenge, was prompted by such events in the past, when the sky started going wild, repeatedly, every year."
Astronomers believe the source of the Taurid meteor stream was a giant comet that has since dissipated. A remnant of this giant is believed to be comet Encke, which can currently be viewed through binoculars as it heads west across the evening sky.
|
SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
|
