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The Lyrids Are Coming!
SeaDour writes "The year's first meteor shower, the Lyrids, will peak in the pre-dawn hours of April 22nd when the Earth plows through the debris trail of Comet Thatcher at a relative velocity of 49 km/s (110,000 mph). Lyrids usually aren't as numerous as other showers (such as the famed Leonids), but they're well-known for their spectacular tails; you can expect to see about 5-20 meteors per hour, depending on the severity of your local light pollution. Unfortunately, my current location in the midwest under stormy skies puts me at a bit of a disposition, but hopefully some other Slashdotters can share their observations with us tomorrow."
... just be sure there isn't a dead seal nearby. And that you have permission to use the house you're in.
I've found that my posts don't format quite right w/o a sig.
Err... do you think this article could have been posted, say, yesterday?
I have just one thing to say about that.
My server could never withstand /.'ing and i don't want to be one of those lamers that posts a link that can't handle the traffic. ... I got some great Orionid and Perseid shots last yr too...
I'm in the midwest also, it was hailing a little bit ago.
The thing that pisses me off is that I live about 30 miles from the nearest _town_ so I would have had an awesome show. Pity.
Unfortunately, my current location in the midwest under stormy skies puts me at a bit of a disposition,
Wow, that's really condition. I feel really emotion for you, salutation. Perhaps the condition will become adjective, and you'll be affected.
This show is worth a watch! It's not as high-profile as the August show, but MAN it's spectacular!
Lindows Steals Copyrighted Art and Promotes Porn
Now that I've quit all that stuff, they just don't excite me anymore :(
The year's first meteor shower, the Lyrids, will peak in the pre-dawn hours of April 22nd when the Earth plows through the debris trail of Comet Thatcher...
I've been waiting years to see this... Thatcher falling from the sky in a ball of flames!
Will these be visible from, say, Australia, where I live?
./ which has readers all over the world. I wish posts like this would give info about other time zones/longitutes/latitudes or at least acknowledge that they are referring to US times and locations.
Not that I wish to invite flaming, but 'before dawn' is a highly relative concept for a site like
Read Pynchon.
"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)..."
Speeds up to 110,000 miles per hour coming from meteoroids always remind me of how fast we're traveling on this pale blue dot.
It makes a little more sense to me to search for our "LEV meteor/asteroid" in these known meteor shower zones. A rogue asteroid hitting the earth would require the overcoming of astronomical odds on par with hitting an incoming missile with an interceptory missile. Since we know and can track these meteor showers, I imagine that scanning the areas in which the space debris exists is the first place we ought to be looking for life-ending rocks.
I have been pwned because my
I think I saw a few of those suckers streaking across the sky a night or two ago. It was the first time I'd seen more than one "shooting star" in a night. I guess I was wrong. It's not an extraterrestrial planetary attack plan in progress.
/me removes tinfoil hat
-- Stu
/. ID under 2,000. I feel old now.
The link looks down and someone mentioned something about it too. Might just be my connection here though. Coincidentally enough, I looked it up this afternoon. Unfortunately, I think Houston will have too much cloud cover to see anything.
funny munging
I thought it was funny, but I guess there probably aren't a lot of /. readers who watch Fraiser.
Couldn't this article have been posted earlier, and not a few hours before the action.
Opera Watch - An Opera browser blog.
Earth's velocity is 29km/s, or ~65,000 mph.
Heeey maaa! It's dem aaaaylien rain.
Being a non-astronomer I guess I assumed that you would have to wait until the side of the earth you were on faced towards the area of space where the comet was. How does someone on the far side of the earth see the meteors? Does the fact that they are visible at or before dawn across the world imply that the comet's position is relatively static compared to the position of the sun?
Read Pynchon.
I guess the old skim reading got a little out of hand. I saw "about 2 a.m. and daybreak local time, regardless of where you live" and assumed this referred to the US, as I was unaware that meteors are visible from all around the world at different times (see below).
Read Pynchon.
the article mentioned 5-20 meteors per hour. I was wondering if anyone knew how many meteors you can expect in an average forecasted meteor (not bathing) shower?
I, for one, welcome our new Lyrid overlords.
(sorry, first thing which came into mind was "oh my how much of these bad jokes are going to be posted today)
bash$
your average grammar/ spelling/ punctuation nazi on the internet is a dull troll
;-)
but a grammar nazi with a sense of humor?
different beast altogether
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
I'm a bit of an amateur photographer, and was wondering what the more experienced ones out there would set their cameras up with as far as shutter speed / apateur for this event? I figure I'll set my digital as long as it'll go at f8 or however small of an apateur I can set, but is that good or not?
"Comet Thatcher shower on a cold day!"
"Comet Thatcher shower on a cold day!"
</Austin_Powers>
If you open yourself to the foo, You and foo become one.
Meteor Shower Peaks Before Dawn Thursday
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
posted: 07:42 am ET
21 April 2004
The annual Lyrid meteor shower peaks before dawn Thursday, April 22. Skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere with dark skies away from city lights could see anywhere from 5 to 25 shootings stars per hour, or one every few minutes.
The timing of this year's version is good, because the Moon just passed its New phase and is out of the picture, its otherwise bright light not a factor.
The Lyrids are best seen between about 2 a.m. and daybreak local time, regardless of where you live, astronomers say. That's when the shower's radiant -- the point from which they appear to emanate -- is highest in the sky. The Lyrid radiant is in the constellation Lyra, and very near to the bright star Vega.
Vega is easy to find. It's in the eastern sky but nearly overhead in the predawn hours. It is the brightest star in that region of the sky and the 5th brightest star overall.
Lyrid meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. But if you trace each one back, it will point toward Vega. The shower is a result of Earth passing through a trail of debris left by a comet called Thatcher, which last passed through the inner solar system in 1861.
The Lyrid event is typically modest -- not as busy as the November Leonids or the August Perseids. But they are still cherished by devout meteor observers.
"The Lyrids are the first major annual shower of the season," said Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society.
But this April shower sometimes generates a brief outburst, when the rate can climb to more than one a minute. Seasoned observers might notice that the Lyrids move more quickly than typical meteors. Bright and persistent trails are common with the Lyrids.
Most shooting stars are generated by bits no larger than sand grains that vaporize when they plow into Earth's atmosphere. An occasional bright fireball is sometimes sighted amid the Lyrids, caused by debris perhaps the size of a pea or marble.
City and suburban dwellers will see significantly fewer of the meteors than those in rural areas away from all light pollution. The shower is not visible from the Southern Hemisphere.
To look for meteors, experts advise taking along a blanket or lounge chair, so you can recline and avoid neck strain. Dress warmer than you think necessary if you plan to be out for more than a few minutes. Find a spot with wide-open sky. Face east but scan as much of the sky as possible. Allow 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness.
Another half-dozen or so meteors not associated with the Lyrids could be visible in any given pre-dawn hour, from dark rural locations, according to Lunsford. These other shooting stars could appear anywhere and move in any direction.
For some reason I misread that as: :D
;^P )
"The triffids are coming!"
You guys wouldn't happen to have noticed any strange plants growing in your gardens would you?(Other than the mary jane kind
including a 30-pack, a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle, a lawn chair, and 5-30 targets per hour streaking through the sky.
I love Arkansas.
-- the only good thing the French ever did was two chicks at one time
If anybody out there lives in Nevada or near the Eastern High Sierras of California, I envy you: I would be in my car, or on my motorcycle, without hesitation, to enjoy a three hour drive into nowhere.
In the time I lived in the Eastern High Sierras (www.deepsprings.edu) I was lucky enough to witness two Leonid showers. They were, witout fail, among the most awe-some night-time events of my life.
So, you desert dwellers... waste no time in making the decision to go.
(I was also once witness to a paraselene - a fabulous sort of full-circle moon-rainbow. Beautiful!)
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I saw the story title and believed for a moment that somebody was anouncing an alien invasion.
... it's all the same to me.
Lyrids, Triffids
Time to beef up my tinfoil hat I guess !
MP3 Search Engine
SeaDour writes "The year's first meteor shower, the Lyrids, will peak in the pre-dawn hours of April 22nd when the Earth plows through the debris trail of Comet Thatcher at a relative velocity of 49 km/s
There is no direction given, so SeaDour should have used speed, not velocity. Or is this a convention often used in astronomy?
-- I need to remember to update my sig
Ya that was one of the best episodes. :-)
Definately funny.
That's a relief. At first I thought it was the Lurids -- a different meteor shower which is too graphic and disturbing to watch and definitely Not Safe For Work.
Ca-moron.
Is pimpin' easy?
...i've never seen so many asteriods spew from uranus!
...liberal "the sky is falling" agenda item:
depending on the severity of your local light pollution.
Geez, now all light is regarded as pollution. Is there anything chicken little can't view as bad (and, usually, in the worst terms possible) for someone or something?
(as always, mod minus for non-liberal out-of-step with bezerkely post)
Are you a man posting as a women?
:->
Cause only an avid slashdoter could come up with something like your post.
Women are too lazy to go after men.
They just read over priced fat loss magazines in bed while watching Opera or Dr. Phil, sleep alot, complain alot and then menstrate to repeat the cycle.
All right, for the benefit of those that can't see the shower, I shall describe it for you......
There goes one..... theres another one!..... And another.... wow these are fast..... oooo, another one.....
That's right. All your base.
There have been reports of dihidrogen oxide pellets in the skies over the Midwest. I'd advise the author of the post to attempt to observe this phenomenon.
Meteor shower raves are something you should partake of, if you have any interest in attending a rave at all. They can be very cold, being outdoors and all, but you will be guaranteed something to do aside from dancing, drugs, loud music, and ill-fated attempts to hook up. If you DO decide to partake of some or all of the above mentioned activities, the meteor shower can still be quite an enhancement -- think Van Gogh's "Starry Night".
Mal-2
How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
wow @_@
Here in the Northeast (on lake ontario) it's been a stormy night... no signs of clearing clouds... feh. FEH I SAY!
Oh wait its just a meteor shower, nevermind.
a meteor shower, wait a minute.... Run! Flee! Cower in fear!
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
Not to be confused with Night of the Lepus.
Nobody's cultivating any triffids in their backyard greenhouses are they?
Ok, Good.
Just making sure, that's all.
You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
There is a lot of hype here.
does anyone know how fast the rate will fall off from the peak? I want to get out of town to see these on the weekend, and I'd like to know if I can expect to see any
.
(If you have no idea what I'm talking about, beef up your book collection with a few John Wyndham novels. Old, but still very readable.)
having an eye operation at the time :-)
[wonders if anyone will get the reference]
When I was about 8, I read day of the triffids where a meteor shower makes everyone blind who watches them.
I still can't watch a meteor shower because of that damn book!
Margaret Thatcher? Her debris field?
/me adjusts tinfoil hat.
Oh boy, those conspiracy nuts are right.
... just be sure there isn't a dead seal nearby. And that you have permission to use the house you're in.
"I'm allergic to bivalves. A good host should know such things about his guests."
"Next time I'll remember to cater to your shellfish demands."
Good episode.
For security, the MD5 hash of this message and sig is 09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0.
I had no idea what the fuck anyone was talking about until I saw this score 0 post. Thanks!
I'll be flying tonight in europe - any chance i'll see anything out of the tiny 737 windows? should i insist on a window seat?
This had to be the dumbest thing I have seen posted on /. since.... well IN SOVIET RUSSIA. I mean honestly, I just saw this and I can't get anywhere NEAR a dark spot before morning!!!
Leave it to the idiots....
Went out to Crown Point, Portland Oregon. In about an hour, only saw maybe a dozen, but there were a few sweet tails. One seemed to move really slow, just amazing to see. Mostly in the south sky, with one or two to the east.
Beer and good company made it a fully worthwhile night.
J
Nothing north of 40.
Not one.
I've been had!
an astronomy observing lab at 2 in the morning, and only now find out about this? There didn't seem to be increased number of meteor above the usual sporadics, but the ones I saw did have radiants originating in Lyra. Seems to me the more popular showers have gurus like Esko Lyytenin who try to predict the exact time and rate of peak (and which part of the globe this will occur over), but apparently these are hard to predict.
"I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
The direction is from Lyra towards us. What more do you need?
"I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
and there's less than 1 every five minutes. It's cold and I'm going to bed,
"I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
story posted at: 11:04pm
time difference: +5 hours
local time posted: 04:04am
Thanks guys. Thanks.
Even worse, I didn't see the story until just now when I got up. Pisses me off, cause I was up until 1am working on my final year project...
This is information that would have been more useful to me YESTERDAY!
(Don't mind me: I've got karma to burn)
wow, way to post the article so late! when i saw the topic i was sure there would be meteor showers tomorrow, but no. {sigh}
er...too late now
Thanks for the advance notice, guys...
"They year's first meteor shower..."
Make that "seventh":
Shower Range Peak radiant velocity population #/hour IMO
Quadrantids Jan 01-Jan 05 Jan 04 15 20 +49 41 2.1 120 QUA
delta-Cancrids Jan 01-Jan 24 Jan 17 08 40 +20 28 3.0 4 DCA
alpha-Centaurids Jan 28-Feb 21 Feb 08 14 00 -59 56 2.0 6 ACE
delta-Leonids Feb 15-Mar 10 Feb 25 11 12 +16 23 3.0 2 DLE
gamma-Normids Feb 25-Mar 22 Mar 13 16 36 -51 56 2.4 8 GNO
Virginids Jan 25-Apr 15 (Mar 24) 13 00 -04 30 3.0 5 VIR
Lyrids Apr 16-Apr 25 Apr 22 18 04 +34 49 2.1 18 LYR
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B