The Aurigid Meteor Shower

A Spectacular and Rare Event

In September of 2007, Earth will once again get to view the rare occurrence of the Aurigid Meteor Shower.

The Aurigid meteor shower is not as well known as many other meteor showers, such as the Lyrids meteor shower or the Perseids meteor shower, but it is still still spectacular in it's own right. The Alpha Aurigids meteor shower occurs between August 25-September 8, generally peaking on September first.

The Aurigid Meteor shower is caused by the earth passing through the particles left behind by the Comet Kiess. The Comet Kiess is a long period comet, that only visits our inner solar system rarely. Comet Kiess takes about 2,500 years to make its orbit around the sun. It is believed to have last visited our solar system in 83 BC.

Earth has encountered the debris stream from the Comet Kiess at least three times in the past century, in 1935, 1986 and 1994. In 2007, we will encounter the debris stream again, and scientists and astronomers are hopeful that this will be an extraordinary shower. While other meteor showers such as the Perseids meteor shower are generally very dependable, the Aurigid meteor shower is quite unpredictable. One never quite knows what the Aurigid meteor shower will bring.

Scientists are hopeful that even though the shower Aurigid meteor shower will only last for about an hour and a half, and the moon will be extremely bright, the meteors will still be able to be seen quite well. Meteors from past Aurigid showers have been rated in brightness from a -2 to +3 magnitude, which are relatively bright and easy to see. This is of course, pure speculation on the scientists part, and the Aurigid meteor shower may very well end up being more of a drizzle than a shower. If the shower is as brilliant as scientists hope for, those that are able to view the Aurigid meteor shower are in for quite a treat.

Because Comet Kiess is a long period comet, it makes the Aurigid meteors extremely spectacular. Comet Kiess spends so much of its time in the outer reaches of the solar system, that the sun rarely reaches its particles. This creates the meteors of the Aurigids to leave a beautiful blue-green streak through the sky.