Lyrid Meteor Shower

Would you like to see a meteor shower? Of course! Well, you're in luck, because the Lyrid meteor shower peaks this week. If you would like to see a meteor streak across the sky, your best bet will be to watch in the early morning of Wednesday, April 22, and Thursday, April 23. 

Lyrid meteors in the Southern Hemisphere. Image Credit: APOD and Yuri Beletsky

Predictable meteor showers, like the Lyrids, occur when the Earth passes through the dust trail left behind by a comet. The bright "shooting stars" you see streaking across the sky are actually very small bits of dust, entering our atmosphere and vaporizing. You can learn more about meteor showers in this previous post.  The Lyrids are caused by Comet Thatcher, which last passed Earth in 1861, and won't be by again until 2276. There are no pictures of this comet, because it takes 451 years to orbit the Sun! Here is an excellent picture of Rosetta's comet, to hold you over. 

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on April 15. As the comet approaches the Sun and warms up, some of the ice vaporizes, forming the coma and tail. Image Credit: ESA/Rosetta/NavCam – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0

What you need to know if you want to watch:

The best time to see the meteors will be between midnight and dawn on April 22 and 23. The waxing crescent Moon will set by midnight, leaving the sky nice and dark to see the streaks of light. Astronomers are predicting 10 to 20 visible meteors an hour, however, it is difficult to predict meteors. There could be many more, or many less than predicted. You don't need any special equipment to watch, just a safe, dark viewing spot, and warm clothing. 





The reason this shower is called the Lyrid meteor shower is because the meteors originate from the part of the sky marked by Lyra the Harp. The higher Lyra gets in the sky, the eaiser the metoers will be to see. Lyra will be highest in the sky just before dawn. However, meteors will be visible all over the sky - you don't need to look any certain direction - and could be visible as soon as the Sun sets.

Lyra the Harp (notice its bright star Vega) will be highest just before dawn on April 22 and 23. This image is set for Peoria at 4 AM. Image credit: Me and Stellarium

Good luck catching some meteors!

By the way, last week's SpaceX launch was successful at delivering its supplies to the Space Station. However, the first stage of the rocket did not successfully complete a soft landing on the platform in the Atlantic. There is good news in this story. The rocket DID hit the bullseye on the platform, a big improvement over the last time. However, it hit too hard, causing it to tip over and burn up. Check out this slow motion video below. It is almost painful to watch, because it was so close to working. SpaceX will try again on its next resupply mission, in June of this year. 

As always, you can learn more about what's up in the current night sky at the Dome Planetarium at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.