Taurid resonant-swarm encounters from two decades of visual observations

Enhanced Taurid activity in terms of visual meteor and fireball rates has been found in 1988, 1991, 1995, 1998 and 2005 data. The years of heightened activity are shown to be unequivocally linked to the encounters of swarms of resonantly trapped particles in the Taurid meteoroid stream according to the model proposed by Asher & Clube. While the annual activity level of the Taurid meteor shower in terms of zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) is 7.8 ± 1.2, swarm year activity typically reaches ZHRs of 12‐17. The annual fraction of fireballs is below 1 per cent; in swarm years, this fraction is as high as 2.4‐4.6 per cent near the maximum of the Taurid activity period.