It ’s April , which mean the second meteoroid shower of the year is upon us : the Lyrids . know for its tops - quick shot wiz that zip across the Nox sky in a flash , the Lyrid meteor shower is currently ramp up its activity and is fix to peak next week .
How To View The Lyrid Meteor Shower
This yr , the Lyrids will run from April 15 to April 29 , with a flush of activity occurring on the night of 22 to 23 April , according to theUK Space Agency blog .
TheLyrid meteor showeris best watch in the Northern Hemisphere during the dark hours ( after moonset and before dawn ) . On a clear , moonless night , you could expect to see 10 to 15 meteors per hour .
The Lyrids have been do it to very once in a while render surges of intense action that bring over 100 shooting star per hour . In 1803 , for example , uranologist spotted up to 700 meteoroid an 60 minutes .
Unfortunately , 2024 wo n’t have the most favourable conditions for genius gaze . A full moon is correct for April 23 , just after the peak of activity , meaning the nighttime sky might be drowned out by Moon . Likewise , you should keep an optic out for April exhibitor , as cloudy conditions weather condition could obscure the spectacle .
As with any shooting star rain shower , they are best viewed from a dark place that ’s far away from street lamp and other artificial lighting – that includes earpiece screenland . You should be patient and go outside early to rent your eyes acclimatize to the lower light-colored conditions .
What Is the Lyrid Meteor Shower?
They are called Lyrids as they seem to add up from the commission of the Lyra constellation . However , they actually have small to do with this distant mathematical group of stars .
Meteor showers are the merchandise of small space rocks and detritus crashing into Earth ’s standard pressure at mellow speed and burn up , creating a high-pitched - push human dynamo . To solid ground - bound human , they seem as a bright streak of light in the sky .
In the case of the Lyrids , the rough dust come from cometC/186 G1 ( Thatcher)which leave a trail of cosmic detritus when it passed by our major planet one C of years ago .
It takes 415.5 years for Thatcher ( the comet , not the late British Prime Minister ) to orb the sun once . It was observed first back in 1861 and wo n’t be interpret from Earth again until 2283 CE during its next passing around the Sun , long after our lifetime ( well , probably ) .
The Lyrids are the oldest record meteor shower bath in the world , as Chinese uranologist documented their appearance over 2,500 years ago . In ancient recordsdated to April 687 BCE , Chinese court astronomers pen how the " stars fall like rain " in the empty dark sky .
