The Beta Taurids (β–Taurids) are an annual

meteor shower A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extre ...

belonging to a class of "daytime showers" that peak after sunrise. The Beta Taurids are best observed by radar and radio-echo techniques. The Beta Taurids are normally active from June 5 to July 18. They emanate from an average radiant of

right ascension Right ascension (abbreviated RA; symbol ) is the angular distance of a particular point measured eastward along the celestial equator from the Sun at the March equinox to the (hour circle of the) point in question above the earth. When paired w ...

5h18m,

declination In astronomy, declination (abbreviated dec; symbol ''δ'') is one of the two angles that locate a point on the celestial sphere in the equatorial coordinate system, the other being hour angle. Declination's angle is measured north or south of the ...

+21.2 and exhibit maximum activity around June 28–29 (Solar Longitude=98.3 deg). The maximum hourly rate typically reaches about 25 as seen on radar. Non-radio observers are faced with a very difficult prospect, because the Beta Taurid radiant is just 10–15 degrees west of the Sun on June 28. These Beta Taurids are the same meteoroid stream as the

Taurids The Taurids are an annual meteor shower, associated with the comet Encke. The Taurids are actually two separate showers, with a Southern and a Northern component. The Southern Taurids originated from Comet Encke, while the Northern Taurids or ...

(which form a meteor shower in late October). The Earth intersects this stream of debris twice, once in late October and once in late June, forming two separate meteor showers. However, because the October event occurs at night, it is far more visible and better known than the Beta Taurids, which peak during daylight hours. Asteroids associated with the β–Taurids include 2201 Oljato,

5143 Heracles 5143 Heracles, provisional designation , is a highly eccentric, rare-type asteroid and synchronous Binary asteroid, binary system, classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo asteroid, Apollo group, approximately 4.8 kilometers in diameter. The ...

, 6063 Jason, and 1991 BA.

Taurid swarm

2019 was predicted to be the closest post-perihelion encounter with Earth since 1975. The Taurid swarm was expected to pass below the

ecliptic The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of the Earth around the Sun. From the perspective of an observer on Earth, the Sun's movement around the celestial sphere over the course of a year traces out a path along the ecliptic again ...

between June 23 – July 17. During 2019 astronomers searched for hypothesized asteroids ~100 meters in diameter from the Taurid swarm between July 5–11, and July 21 – August 10. There were no reports of discoveries of any such objects. There is circumstantial evidence that the daytime June 30

Tunguska event The Tunguska event (occasionally also called the Tunguska incident) was an approximately 12-megaton explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate (now Krasnoyarsk Krai), Russia, on the morning of June 30, ...

came from the same direction in the sky as the Beta Taurids. The next June close approach to the Taurid swarm is expected in 2036. The Taurid swarm is featured in

Graham Hancock Graham Bruce Hancock (born 2 August 1950) is a British writer who promotes pseudoscientific theories involving ancient civilizations and lost lands. Hancock speculates that an advanced ice age civilization was destroyed in a cataclysm, but th ...

’s pseudoarchaeological theories in the

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series ''Ancient Apocalypse'', which was released on 10 November 2022. This series incorporates ideas from the

Comet Research Group The Comet Research Group, Inc. (also known as the CRG) is non-profit organization whose members promote their research focused on cosmic impact events or meteor air bursts on Earth in the distant past, including events of biblical significance. ...

(CRG), including the controversial and discredited

Younger Dryas impact hypothesis The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis (YDIH) or Clovis comet hypothesis is a speculative attempt to explain the onset of the Younger Dryas (YD) as an alternative to the long standing and widely accepted cause due to a significant reduction or shut ...

, which attributes climate change at the end of the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

to a massive swarm of comet fragments.

Other daytime June showers

During June two other more active daytime meteor showers are known. They are the

Zeta Perseids The Zeta Perseids (ζ–Perseids) are a daylight meteor shower that takes place from about May 20 to July 5. On the peak date of June 13, the radiant is only 16 degrees from the Sun. The shower was discovered at Jodrell Bank Observatory in 1947 ...

which are also related to Taurid complex and the

Arietids The Arietids are a strong meteor shower that lasts from May 22 to July 2 each year, and peaks on June 7. The Arietids, along with the Zeta Perseids, are the most intense daylight meteor showers of the year. The source of the shower is unknown, but ...

which are not related. Both of these showers radiate in roughly the same part of the sky as the Beta Taurids.

Notes

References

Meteor showers June events July events {{meteoroid-stub

Taurid swarm

Other daytime June showers

See also

Notes

References