The Lyrid meteor shower

The Lyrid meteor shower peaks on the morning of April 22nd. But we should be on the look out as it starts at the start of april.Observers who wake up at, say, 3 a.m., and watch the sky until dawn can expect to see a few dozen meteors (5 to 20 per hour). The Lyrids are a northern hemisphere shower. Sky watchers in the southern hemisphere should stay in bed. [sky map]

Lyrid meteors stream from a point in the constellation Lyra near Vega--a brilliant blue-white star about three times wider than our Sun and 25 light years away. Go outside any morning before dawn in April and look straight up: There's Vega, bright and eye-catching. About 14,000 years ago Vega was the North Star. Earth's spin axis wanders: Now it points at Polaris, then it pointed at Vega. You might have seen Vega in Carl Sagan's movie Contact. It was the source of alien radio transmissions to Earth.

Although Lyrid meteors look like they come from Vega, they don't. The source of the Lyrid meteor shower is Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1). Every year in April Earth plows through Thatcher's dusty debris stream with a relative velocity of 49 km/s (110,000 mph). Meteoroids (most no bigger than grains of sand) strike Earth's atmosphere and disintegrate as fiery streaks of light.


Occasionally, the Lyrids have an outburst. Most years in April there are no more than 10 to 20 meteors per hour during the shower's peak. But sometimes, when Earth glides through an unusually dense clump of comet debris, the rate increases. Sky watchers in 1982, for instance, counted 90 Lyrids per hour. An even more impressive outburst was documented in 1803 by a journalist in Richmond, Virginia, who wrote:

"Shooting stars. This electrical [sic] phenomenon was observed on Wednesday morning last at Richmond and its vicinity, in a manner that alarmed many, and astonished every person that beheld it. From one until three in the morning, those starry meteors seemed to fall from every point in the heavens, in such numbers as to resemble a shower of sky rockets..." [ref]

What will the Lyrids do this year? The only way to know for sure is to go outside and look.

The best time to watch, no matter where you live, will be during the hours before dawn between about 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. local time on April 22nd. Simply go outside and look up, generally toward the north. Sky watchers in rural areas should spot a shooting star every few minutes. The Lyrid meteor shower is best viewed from the northern hemisphere where its radiant lies high in the sky. Southern observers as far south as -30 degrees latitude will spot some Lyrids, but probably no more than a sprinkling.

Experienced meteor watchers suggest the following viewing strategy: Dress warmly. Bring a reclining chair, or spread a thick blanket over a flat spot of ground. Lie down and look up somewhat toward the east. Meteors can appear in any part of the sky, although their trails will tend to point back toward the radiant.

Well done Conor, great information there!

Just to add, one can find a meteor log sheet in the Files section here to help them in recording any major or sporadic showers/meteors you see. Taken from the Novice Challenge Handbook.



Seanie.

thanks! that's a great job, must use it instead of a file page and paper!

Conor,

Great report. I do not mean to be the bearer of really bad news but we have a nearly full moon doing its usual best to disrupt major events and the Lyrids this year are no exception. The moon will be at 94% phase during the 2:00-5:00 am window. Damn it!

Great info Conor. I will be watching this shower despite the presence of strong moonlight. I will be particularily vigilant 2 - 3 nights after maximum when bright fireballs are known to appear. I willl check out the form and print it out, save me designing my own to.

Clear Skies!

yes the moon that is a good point! plus this isnt the bigget of showers .
But me and marty wil do a watch anyway, at the end of the day its still a shower and you never know what will happen!