Appearance of the eastern sky at 5:00 am on June 7, 2000 from a mid-northern latitude observing site.

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.^[1] The source of the shower is unknown, but scientists suspect that they come from the asteroid 1566 Icarus,^[1][2] although the orbit also corresponds similarly to 96P/Machholz.^[3]

First discovered at Jodrell Bank Observatory in England during the summer of 1947, the showers are caused when the Earth passes through a dense portion of two interplanetary meteoroid streams, producing an average of 60 shooting stars each hour, that originate in the sky from the constellation Aries and the constellation Perseus.^[4] However, because both constellations are so close to the Sun when these showers reach their peak, the showers are difficult to view with the naked eye.^[1] Some of the early meteors are visible in the very early hours of the morning, usually an hour before dawn.^[5] The meteors strike Earth's atmosphere at 39 km/s.^[1]

See also[link]

• Eta Aquariids
• Leonids
• Meteor

References[link]

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