Starwatch: Lyrid meteor shower returns to the spring skies | Science
This week, the annual Lyrid meteor shower returns to spring skies. Although active since April 16, the showers peak late in the evening of Wednesday, April 22, and into the early hours of the next morning.
The chart shows the view looking east from London at 00.01 BST on Thursday 23 April. The origins of meteors known as radiants are labeled Lyrids. It is located in the constellation Lyra, close to the bright star Vega.
The meteors will appear to radiate from the radiation and will spread in all directions at a maximum speed of 18 per hour. Meteors themselves are characterized by being bright and fast, sometimes leaving smokey ‘trains’ in the sky.
Records of the Lyrids date back to 687 BC. More recently, its origins have been attributed to Comet Thatcher, discovered in 1861. Meteors that burn in our atmosphere to form meteor showers were once part of a comet’s dust tail.
The best images will probably come after midnight and when your eyes have adjusted to the darkness; This process takes 20 to 30 minutes.
Visibility from the southern hemisphere is limited as the radiant will remain low in the northern sky.
