The Lyrids Are Firing Up

The Lyrid Meteor Shower Peaks This week

Aprils’s shooting stars, the Lyrid meteors tend to be bright and often leave trails and is active each year from about April 16 to the 25th.  You should be able to see about ten to twelve meteors per hour at the peak, which is on the early mornings of the 22nd into the 23rd.  Sometimes a rare surge will increase during the peak viewing times and you could see upwards of 100 per hour. The last “outburst” was in 1982, these are not predictable.
The peak viewing times are midnight to dawn. There will be little to no moon to interfere with viewing.

The radiant for the Lyrid meteor shower is near the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra.  This rises in the northeast at about 10 pm on April’s evenings.   Lyrids are an annual meteor shower from the comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1). Thatcher’s last visit was 1861, and next visit will be 2276.
Every time a comet makes an orbit around the sun, it leaves behind a trail of debris. Every time the earth passes through that debris trail, it creates the meteor showers. The larger the debris field the more meteors produced, this changes every year.
The Lyrids are the oldest recorded meteor shower. Ancient Chinese observers recorded the Lyrid meteors falling like rain in the year 687 B.C, 2,700 years ago. That was an “outburst”

Good places to view the lyrids are any dark area away from light pollution of cities and small towns. Lie flat on your back and look towards the east getting as much of a view as you can.
 The beaches are great, and if you are actively fishing you can stay out all night.  Delaware Seashore State Park is a good area to view. You can use the Star tracker app or other apps to find the radiant.
 The Eta Aquarids will be the next to peak in early May.

The next peak will be the Eta Aquarids April 19th to May 28th is their duration. These will peak on May 5 to 6 into the early morning. The Eta Aquarids will produce up to 30 meteors per hour across the Northern Hemisphere and as many as 60 meteors per hour for those across the Southern Hemisphere. Haley’s comet is the parent of the Eta Aquarids.