For those who enjoy viewing the night sky in all its splendor, April offers sky watchers the chance to catch sight of the Lyrids meteor showers, with best viewing the night of April 21. The moon will cooperate in the show, as on that date it will be at new moon phase so will not illuminate the sky.
Meteors, what we often refer to as shooting stars, consist of bits of interplanetary ice or rock that usually burn to nothing when they hit Earth’s upper atmosphere. These rocks travel at thousands of miles an hour, so the friction produced upon entry to the atmosphere produces heat that causes them to ignite. Meteors generally vaporize anywhere from 30-80 miles above the ground, creating a spectacular light show for observers on earth. The very few meteors that survive the entry to the earth’s atmosphere hit the ground. We call these chunks of rock meteorites.
Meteor showers are displays of meteors that streak across the sky at the rate of a few dozen to hundreds each hour. Our Earth regularly passes through streams of comet debris in orbit around the sun, and some of this debris falls into the Earth’s atmosphere. This produces meteor showers.
Although the April Lyrids are not the most spectacular meteor showers (you need to view the Perseids in August and the Leonids in November to see a true light show), the Lyrids will still provide good viewing and a great excuse to sit outside after dark gazing at the sky. April’s mild temperatures also will allow you to watch in relative comfort.
Our annual meteor showers get their names from the places they seem to originate. The Perseids for example get their name because the meteors seem to be falling from a point within the constellation Perseus.
The Lyrids, named for the constellation Lyra the Harp, will produce between 10 and 15 meteors per hour, a far cry from the 60 per hour that the Perseids and the Geminids usually produce. However, with no moon, the Lyrids should provide a good show this year. Meteors will appear anywhere unexpectedly and in any part of the night sky, so you don’t have to face any particular direction. You will have to find a dark spot with a good view of the horizon, and remember that meteor sightings tend to increase as the night wears on, so the viewing becomes better after midnight. Meteors instantly get your attention when they streak across the sky, and watching multiple meteors as they crash and burn in our atmosphere provides a great evening of viewing.
Take a blanket to keep warm, remember to pack something to drink, and perhaps have some bug spray handy while you settle yourself in to watch the light show.
For those interested in other meteor showers, the Perseids will be at their height on Aug. 13, the Orionids make an appearance the night of Oct. 21, the Leonids give us a show on Nov. 17, and the Geminids herald Christmas by arriving on Dec. 13.
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