TABLE 14.1 Some Prominent Meteor Showers

MORNING OF MAXIMUM ACTIVITY SHOWER NAME ROUGH HOURLY COUNT PARENT COMET Jan. 3 Quadrantid 40 — Apr. 21 Lyrid 10 1861I (Thatcher) May 4 Eta Aquarid 20 Halley June 30 Beta Taurid 25 Encke July 30 Delta Aquarid 20 — Aug. 11 Perseid 50 1862III (Swift—Tuttle) Oct. 9 Draconid up to 500 Giacobini—Zinner Oct. 20 Orionid 30 Halley Nov. 7 Taurid 10 Encke Nov. 16 Leonid 12* 1866I (Tuttle) Dec. 13 Geminid 50 3200 Phaeton** *Every 33 years, as Earth passes through the densest region of this meteoroid swarm, we see intense showers that can reach 1000 meteors per minute for brief periods of time. This is next expected to occur in 1999. **Phaeton is actually an asteroid and shows no signs of cometary activity, but its orbit matches the meteoroid paths very well.

reference: Astronomy Today by Chaisson and McMillan