NASA: Tune in for the Lyrids Meteor Shower, Peaking April 21-22

By Wayne Smith

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.

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.

Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.544.0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov

Jim Singleton
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