The Taurids are an annual meteor shower associated with the comet Encke. They are named after the constellation Taurus, where they are seen to come from in the sky. Because of their occurrence in late October and early November, they are also called Halloween fireballs. Categories: Planetology | Astronomy stubs ... Photo of the comet Hale-Bopp above a tree. ... Comet Encke (officially designated 2P/Encke) is a periodic comet, named after Johann Franz Encke, who through laborious study of its orbit and many calculations was able to link multiple observations in 1786 (2P/1786 B1), 1795 (2P/1795 V1), 1805 (2P/1805 U1) and 1818 (2P/1818 W1) to... Jump to: navigation, search Taurus ( , Latin for bull) is one of the constellations of the zodiac. ... Jump to: navigation, search October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see November (disambiguation). ... Jump to: navigation, search A jack-o-lantern Halloween is an observance celebrated on the night of October 31, most notably by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door collecting candy. ... The term fireball is often used in reference to any large explosion or burst of fire. ...

Encke and the Taurids are believed to be remnants of a much larger comet, which has disintegrated over the past 20,000 to 30,000 years, breaking into several pieces and releasing material by normal cometary activity or perhaps occasionally by close encounters with the gravitational field of Earth or other planets. In total, this stream of matter is the largest in the inner solar system. Due to the stream's size, the Earth takes several weeks to pass through it, causing an extended period of meteor activity, compared with the much smaller periods of activity in other showers. The Taurids are also made up of weightier material, pebbles instead of dust grains. The gravitational field is a field that causes bodies with mass to attract each other. ... Jump to: navigation, search Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third-closest planet to the Sun. ... Jump to: navigation, search Presentation of the solar system (not to scale) The solar system is the retinue of objects gravitationally bound to our Sun. ... Pebbles A pebble is a rock with a size of 4 to 75 millimeters (some say 64 millimeters). ... Jump to: navigation, search Dust is a general name for minute solid particles of diameters less than 500 micrometers (otherwise see sand or granulates) and, more generally, for finely divided matter. ...

Typically, Taurids appear at a rate of about 7 per hour, moving slowly across the sky at about 17 miles per second (27 kilometers per second), or 65,000 miles per hour. If large enough, these meteors may become bolides, with spectacular light shows and even audible sound. Miles per hour is a unit of speed, expressing the number of international miles covered per hour. ... kilometre per second is an SI derived unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector), signified by the symbol km/s or km s-1. ... Miles per hour is a unit of speed, expressing the number of international miles covered per hour. ... Jump to: navigation, search The term bolide (from the Greek βολις, bolis, missile) can refer to either an extraterrestrial body that collides with the Earth, or to an exceptionally bright, fireball-like meteor regardless of whether it ultimately impacts the surface. ...

Due to the gravitational effect 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 Beta Taurids, encountered by the Earth in June/July and which many astronomers consider the cause of the Tunguska event, are also a cross section of the stream. Beta Taurids approach from the Earth's daytime side; so cannot be observed visually in the way the (night-time) Northern and Southern Taurids of October/November can. Jump to: navigation, search A planet in common parlance is a large object in orbit around a star that is not a star itself. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 70 kPa Hydrogen ~86% Helium ~14% Methane 0. ... The Beta Taurids are an annual meteor shower belonging to a class of daytime showers that peak after sunrise. ... Jump to: navigation, search Trees felled by the Tunguska blast. ...

The Taurid stream has a cycle of activity that peaks roughly every 2500 to 3000 years, when its core passes nearer to Earth and produces more intense showers. In fact, because of the separate "branches" (night-time in one part of the year and daytime in another; and Northern/Southern in each case) there are two (possibly overlapping) peaks separated by a few centuries, every 3000 years. Some astronomers note that dates for megalith structures such as Stonehenge are associated with these peaks. Megalithic tomb, Mane Braz, Brittany A megalith is a large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument either alone or with other stones. ... Jump to: navigation, search Stonehenge Stonehenge is a Neolithic and Bronze Age monument located near Amesbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Salisbury. ...

The next peak is expected around 3000 AD, suggesting that the Taurids may also be responsible for the Star of Bethlehem. It has been suggested that in 1, there were Taurid meteor showers due to the Encke tail encountering Earth and breaking up [1]. Anno Domini (Latin: In the Year of the Lord), or more completely Anno Domini Nostri Iesu Christi (In the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ), commonly abbreviated AD or A.D., is the designation used to number years in the dominant Christian Era in the world today. ... The Star of Bethlehem was a star or star-like object that, in the account of Jesus birth given in the Greek Gospel of Matthew, heralded his arrival and guided the Magi, better known in Christian mythology as the Three Wise Men) to the stable in Bethlehem where he was... Jump to: navigation, search // Events The first full year in the life of Jesus as assigned by Dionysius Exiguus in his Anno Domini era. ...

The Taurids also have more frequent peaks which may result from a heavier concentration of material in the stream, which only hits Earth during some passes.

Taurids and UFOs

During the week ending November 4, 2005, the large number of fireballs seen all over the world led some to suggest UFO visitations. These fireballs may have been space junk or the Taurids [2]. Jump to: navigation, search November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 57 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... UFO can mean: Unidentified flying object United Future Organization, a Japanese-Brazilian electronic jazz band UFO, the rock band that previously featured Michael Schenker UFO, the Gerry Anderson TV series United Farmers of Ontario, a political party that formed the government in Ontario from 1919 to 1923 U.F.O... Space Debris Space debris or orbital debris, also called space junk, are the objects in orbit around Earth created by man that no longer serve any useful purpose. ...

External links

• Meteor Shower Promises Seven Shooting Stars an Hour - National Geographic News
• Fireball Sightings - NASA
• CNN