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Lyrid Meteor Shower Arrives This Weekend

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the sky-is-falling dept.

mdsolar writes "If you want to take a chance on the Lyrid Meteor Shower you should be looking this weekend. This shower is usually a quiet one but can result is spectacular displays from time to time. Earth & Sky gives viewing times as the very early hours of Sunday and Monday morning. The moon will have set by then."

2 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Any info for Australians? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Hah what a trip, the exact same thing happened to me... I've had a fever and thought it was a hallucination until I read this hahahah

    I found this info, hope it helps:

    http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/planetarium/skynotes/ sn.html

    Meteors

    The Lyrids are the main meteor shower in April. The shower is centred near the star Vega in Lyra, the lyre, which appears low to the northern horizon around 3am - the best time to view meteors. The Lyrids are active between the 16th and the 25th, with a peak around the 22nd. The maximum hourly rate typically reaches 10, but occasionally outbursts occur when the meteor rate climbs to 100.

    The Pi-Puppids is better placed for us but it is not a persistent shower. It is associated with Comet Grigg-Skjellerup and being a relatively new shower, has periods of inactivity when the comet is far from the Sun. The comet's next pass of the Sun will occur in March 2008, so next year will probably be the one to watch. The peak of the shower is due on the 24th and its centre lies low in the south west to the right of the bright star Canopus in Carina, the keel.

    The delta Pavonids which began in late March, peaks on the 6th and will be hindered by the gibbous Moon. This shower is centred on the little known constellation of Pavo, the peacock, which lies near the South Celestial Pole.

    There should also be some meteor activity centred on Scorpius and Sagittarius (the archer) that is best seen after midnight. Meteor activity in this region of sky runs from the 15th through until July, with several peaks within this time.

  2. Random encounter by FeebleOldMan · · Score: 5, Informative

    The "true peak time" isn't listed exactly on the articles because it is very difficult to predict exactly when you'll get a dramatic increase of meteors. I remember a couple of years ago when they predicted a Leonids meteor storm to occur near midnight of +8GMT, and it didn't happen; apparently the pile of space dirt got blown off course by the solar wind and the Leonids peak actually happened in the daytime where I lived.

    For global viewers, just pick a time when the constellation Lyra is up in the sky, and for easiest viewing, when the moon hasn't risen. Try Stellarium http://www.stellarium.org/ to find your best time. If you are able to view it after midnight, all the better as that's when the most meteors will be directly slamming into the atmosphere overhead.