The 2012 Lyrid meteor shower captured by astronaut Don Pettit on board the International Space Station.
NASA
The annual Lyrid Meteor Shower officially started on Thursday and will remain active for approximately 10 days, with peak night taking place late Tuesday through Wednesday morning. according to the Griffith Observatory. You can catch it from 10pm, but this shower is perfect for early risers as the hour or two before sunrise is probably the best time to spot the “falling stars”.
The lyrids are pieces of rock and dust left behind by comet C / 1861 G (Thatcher). Every year at this time the earth drifts through a debris cloud from a previous visit by the comet – its last journey through the inner solar system was in 1861 – and these particles collide with our upper atmosphere at 43 km per second at a rate of about 5%.
If you find a dark sky with minimal light pollution, cloud cover and clear view during the night, you can expect up to 18 meteors per hour. And when the new moon is set for Wednesday, there is no moonlight that could wash out the meteor experience.
The Lyrids aren’t necessarily the most spectacular meteor shower of the year, but they come between January and April after a whole season without major showers. So it’s a great opportunity to go outside and have a little look, especially when most of us spend a lot of time indoors in these unprecedented times.
“Compared to other meteor showers, the lyrids tend to produce bright meteors and occasionally a fireball.” writes Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society.
You should be able to see the lyrids simply by leaning back, your eyes getting used to the dark, and relaxing with the greatest possible view of the sky. But if you can identify the constellation Lyra, the harpThe lyrids seem to shine from this point in the sky. So it’s worth making sure they’re in your field of vision.
If you can’t wake up before sunrise, it may still be worth looking for meteors after around 10 p.m. Local time in the evening. They are less likely to appear higher in the sky, and are less likely to be visible, but you have an increased chance of seeing a so-called “earth dweller” near the horizon that burns longer and brighter than your average meteor.
I suggest bothering to see some of these meteors if you can. We can all use a distraction now and this could be the best opportunity to watch meteorites until November. The large Perseid meteor shower in August is usually the largest of the year, but in 2020 it will be partially washed out by the moon.
If you catch fireballs, please Share the footage with me @EricCMack.