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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?
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.
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!
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.
Hehe, I usually try to stay away... but RTFA!
The Lyrids are best seen between about 2 a.m. and daybreak local time, regardless of where you live, astronomers say.
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.
Couldn't this article have been posted earlier, and not a few hours before the action.
Opera Watch - An Opera browser blog.
Meteor showers used to be cool years ago when I used to take drugs and watch them. Now that I've quit all that stuff, they just don't excite me anymore :(
Funny, now that you've stopped taking drugs you aren't very exciting either.
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?
Southern hemisphere won't see anything, apart from the usual bunyips, wobbegongs and taniwhas
God was my co-pilot, but then we crashed and I was forced to eat him.
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.
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!)
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
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.
Hehe, I usually try to stay away... but RTFA!
Except the FAIW
The shower is not visible from the Southern Hemisphere
From the
The Lyrids are a northern shower, but can be observed by most mainland Australians. The best time to observe the Lyrids is in the morning between 2.00-5.00 am. However, the Lyrids low rates, combined with their closeness to the horizon, mean that few meteors are likely to be seen. To see the Lyrids, look to the north in the morning sky. About two handspans above the northern horizon is the bright, blue-white star alpha Lyra, the brightest star near the northern horizon. The Lyrid radiant is just above it and to the left by around a handspan.
Most meteor showers have a "peak" though where the earth passes through the densest part of the comet's trail. For this meteor shower, they don't appear to know when the peak will fall. For the Leonids the last couple of years they tried to predict, and that was a certain time that would be different in different time zones.
Happy skywatching!
Southern hemisphere won't see anything
Really? We've got the Pi-Puppids plus a circumpolar "bright" comet, C/2001 Q4 (NEAT).
Also, the Lyrids are not the first meteor shower of the year; the first of several showers before the Lyrids are the Quadrantids. Downunder, but not left out...
Thanks for the advance notice, guys...