One of the oldest known meteor showers will light up the night sky next week. Rain of lyrical meteorites peaks on Thursday morning, April 22, marking a spectacular start to Earth Day.
The shower takes place after a month-long meteor drought, in which there were no showers from January to April.
What are Lyrids?
The Lyrid meteor shower returns every year between April 16 and 25, as particles from comet 1861 G1 Thatcher. There are no photos of the comet because it last passed through the inner solar system in 1861 – and with an orbit of 415 years, it will not return until 2276.
Records of Lyrids date back to about 2,700 years ago, making it one of the oldest known meteor showers. According to NASA, the first meteor shower Lyrid was recorded in China in 687 BC.
Lyrid meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Lyra Harp, near the bright star Vega, giving the name of the shower.
Lyrids are known to have outbreaks of 100 meteors per hour, with heavier showers in Greece in 1922, Japan in 1945 and the USA in 1982. An explosion is not planned for 2021 – but that does not mean it is impossible.
As the Earth collides with the comet’s orbit, vaporizing debris grows in our atmosphere at about 110,000 miles per hour. Meteors are considered medium-fast.
About 25% of Lyrid meteors leave a persistent train – an ionized gas track that glows a few seconds after the meteor has already passed. Falling stars are known for their speed and brightness, although they do not compare to the bright Perseid shower in august.
Under normal conditions, the shower provides a peak of about 10-20 meteors per hour in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, the rate is much lower at 1-2 per hour.
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When and where to watch Lyrids
The Lyrids meteor shower is expected to peak in the hours leading up to Thursday, April 22, continuing on the morning of April 23, according to EarthSky. No matter where you are on Earth, the best time to observe meteor showers is between midnight and dawn.
The shower starts after it grows radiant and is usually best when the radiant is highest in the sky. During the peak of the shower, Vega rises in the northeast around 9-10 local time, and is highest just before dawn.
However, the late evening hours also present an opportunity to see an earth – a slow-moving, long-lasting meteor that crosses the horizon.
With this special rain, fewer meteors are visible from the southern hemisphere.
If you look directly at the bright, the shooting stars will be short. To see longer and more spectacular meteors, it is better to look elsewhere.
As always, it is best to get rid of the harsh lights of the city and see meteor showers in a wide open space. Find an open area, allow your eyes 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness, and lie flat on your back.
This year, the light of the rising gibbous moon, which is full on April 26, will interfere with visibility.
“On the morning of April 22, the moon will set about 30 minutes before any sign of dawn begins to appear in the east – at 4:07 in the morning and 4:44 in the morning in EDT, respectively – so there will be only a short window. without light interference, “NASA said.
Lyrids overlap with the Aquariid meteor shower, which lasts between April 19 and May 28. However, the rain is heavier in the southern hemisphere.