Lyrids Meteor Shower 2010

Every year in late April, Earth passes through the dusty tail of comet Thatcher. The brief encounter causes a meteor shower called the Lyrids, named after the constellation Lyra. Lyrid meteors often leave behind smoky, bright trails that can linger in the night sky for minutes.

Weather permitting, the best time to watch the Lyrids meteor shower will be during the dark hours before dawn (your... [read more]

Every year in late April, Earth passes through the dusty tail of comet Thatcher. The brief encounter causes a meteor shower called the Lyrids, named after the constellation Lyra. Lyrid meteors often leave behind smoky, bright trails that can linger in the night sky for minutes.

Weather permitting, the best time to watch the Lyrids meteor shower will be during the dark hours before dawn (your local time) on April 22. Sky watchers in rural areas should be able to spot a meteor every few minutes. Don’t worry about bringing binoculars or a telescope to observe Lyrid meteors, the naked eye is all you need!

The Lyrids usually produce about 15 to 20 visible meteors per hour at their peak. Uncommon surges can sometimes bring the rate up to 100 per hour, but these rare outbursts are not easy to predict. That’s one of the reasons why the Lyrids are worth watching. The only way to know for sure is to go outside and look up!

The Lyrid meteor shower is best viewed from the northern hemisphere. Southern observers as far south as -30 degrees latitude will spot some Lyrids, but probably no more than a sprinkling. For sky watchers south of the equator, listening to the online radar might be the best way to enjoy the celestial show (http://spaceweatherradio.com/).

Go to the Fluxtimator link to find the calculated Lyrid rate from your location (http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/estimator.html).

Happy sky-watching!

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