The Lyrid Meteors will be at peak visibility between 22 and 23 April this year, shortly after the New Moon on 19 April, which should ensure a good display in areas with clear skies. The meteors, which appear to radiate from the constellation of Lyra, have been visible since the 16th, and will continue till 25 April. At its peak the Lyrid Meteor shower typically produces about 20 meteors per hour, though higher rates have been recorded.
Sky map showing the radiant point for the Lyrid Meteors (i.e. the point from which the meteors appear to radiate). Astronomy.
The Lyrid Meteors are comprised of debris from the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher (named after the astronomer A. E. Thatcher, not the politician). This is a long-period comet that spends most of its time in the Oort Cloud, only visiting the inner Solar System once every 415 years, the last occasion being in 1861. When the comet visits the inner Solar System it is heated by the Sun, melting the ices that make up its surface and releasing a trail of dust, which continues to follow the path of the comet. The Earth passes through this trail in April each year, creating a light show as the dust particles burn in the upper atmosphere.
The orbit and current position of C/1861 G1 Thatcher. Image created using the JPLSmall-Body Database Browser.
See also...
Witnesses reported a series of bright meteors over much of Scotland, as well as parts of Northern Ireland, Cumbria and the Irish and North Seas slightly after 9.00 pm GMT on Sunday 15 March 2015. Meteors were...
The Quadratid Meteor Shower is one of the brightest meteor showers of the year, often producing over 100 meteors per hour at its peak, which falls on the night of 3-4 January each year, and is predicted to peak at 2.00 am GMT on Sunday 4 January 2015. The...
The Orionid Meteors are a prolific meteor shower appearing in late October each year and peaking on the nights of 21-22 October, when the shower can produce 50-70 meteors per hour, originating in the constellation of Orion (above and to the right of Orion's right shoulder). This makes them both one of the more...
Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.