The Lyra constellation in the Northern sky is known as a memorial to music thanks to being named after the lyre, a musical instrument similar to a harp. The small constellation is also the namesake from where the annual Lyrids meteor shower radiates. The Lyrids are expected to peak on the night of April 21 into the morning of April 22.
While most cameras were looking up at the 2012 peak of
the Lyrid meteor shower, astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International Space
Station trained his video camera on Earth below. Footage from that night is now
revealing breathtaking images of Earth at night with meteors burning up in the
atmosphere.
NASA/JSC/D. Pettit
So, with the sound of music in mind,
stargazers are encouraged to get in tune with their own playlists to enjoy as
we anticipate April’s Lyrids
meteor shower, which are known for their fast, bright
meteors.
Though not as fast or as plentiful as
the famous Perseids in August, Lyrids can surprise watchers with as many as 100
meteors seen per hour. According to NASA, sightings of these heavier showers
occurred in 1803 (Virginia), 1922 (Greece), 1945 (Japan), and 1982 (U.S.). In
general, 10-20 Lyrid meteors can be seen per hour during their peak.
Lyrids don’t tend to leave long, glowing
dust trains behind them as they streak through the Earth’s atmosphere, but they
can produce the occasional bright flash called a fireball.
“You will begin to see Lyrids after 10
p.m. local time,” said Bill Cooke, who leads NASA’s Meteoroid Environment
Office at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “This year, the light from the crescent
Moon will not interfere too much with the viewing, but it is best to look away
from the Moon, preferably placing it behind you.”
According to Cooke, we can expect around
five to six meteors per hour around 4:30 a.m. when the radiant is high in the
sky. Find an area well away from the city or street lights. Come prepared with
a blanket. Lie flat on your back and look up, taking in as much of the sky as
possible. “In less than 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you
will begin to see meteors,” said Cooke.
Meteors come from leftover comet
particles and bits from broken asteroids. When comets come around the Sun, they
leave a dusty trail behind them. Every year Earth passes through these debris
trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere where they
disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky. The pieces of
space debris that interact with our atmosphere to create the Lyrids originate
from comet
C/1861 G1 Thatcher. Comet Thatcher was discovered on April
5, 1861, by A. E. Thatcher.
Their radiant – the point in the sky
from which the Lyrids appear to come – is near Lyra. Lyrids appear to radiate
from the area near the star Vega, the brightest star in this constellation and
one of the brightest stars in the night sky.
It is better to view the Lyrids away
from their radiant: They will appear longer and more spectacular from this
perspective. If you do look directly at the radiant, you will find that the
meteors will be short.
Read
more about meteors.
Now, get back to building that playlist. And hang onto it for another nightsky viewing opportunity: The Eta Aquarids meteor shower peaks during early May each year. Look for the Eta Aquarids to peak the night of May 3-4.
By Wayne
Smith
Source: NASA: Tune in for the Lyrids Meteor Shower, Peaking April 21-22 - NASA
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