It takes 415.5 years on a comet called C/1861 G1 Thatcher and in the circle of the sun. But every year in late April, our planet will crash into the trail of dust left behind the comet in its long journey around the Sun. These bits of debris burn up in our atmosphere and flow through the night sky in bright streaks. This is a huge meteor shower. And we can see its peak this weekend in the night from Saturday, April 21, and Sunday, April 22.
The lyrids are so named because they come from the constellation Lyra. On the night of April 21 and 22 in the Northern hemisphere, Lyra will rise in the North-Eastern part of the sky in the early evening and move almost directly overhead in the night, like so:
Lira is quite easy to detect, as it includes the star VEGA, which is one of the brightest in the night sky. You should not be looking directly at Lyra to see the show because the meteors will shoot in all directions.
Moon (half full) put up for the night around 2 am Eastern time. (Here the exact time of moonset in your area.) Within a few hours after that, the sky will be nice and dark for meteor viewing.
The best time to see the website EarthSky recommends that, just before dawn. That’s when Lyra will be almost directly overhead. (To find out exactly where to look, I recommend a GPS-enabled app for astronomy fans as Skagit.)
At the peak of the meteors’, according to estimates by NASA, you can see up to 20 per hour. But for the best hunting meteor, be sure to find a dark patch of sky, away from the bright city lights. Just lie on the ground with your feet facing East, NASA recommends, and let your eyes adjust to the darkness.
If you see a meteor, you see the speck of space debris will reach about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit as it burns in our atmosphere. Some will leave bright trails behind them. This ionized gas (i.e. gas under tension, unlike the light from a neon lamp) glowing meteors’.
Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher and not to return to our neighborhood in the Solar system until the year 2276. But take this as your annual chance to see a part of it.
If you miss the Lyrids, don’t worry. There are many meteor showers to determine this year.
In the ETA Aquarids light up the sky on the 6th and 7th of may. Then, the Perseids, probably the best meteor shower of the year, will peak around August 13. After ozonide to be released in October and the Leonids in November.
Sourse: vox.com
