This year ’s Lyrid meteor shower is look to peak between midnight and morning on Wednesday , April 22 and Thursday , April 23rd . Here ’s what you take to know to fleck as many meteors as possible .
Avoid Light Like the Plague
We ’re verbalise all kind of light . metropolis lights , street lights , family light , flashlight , any sparkle . The moon , which is currently a wax crescent , will adjust in the early even , which will leave the dark sky nice and dark . That mean conditions are fairly idealistic for spot meteor , so do n’t blow your night vision by moderate your indiglo watch out of habit , and DON’T LOOK AT YOUR telephone set . It is a well - known fact that backlit cellular phone screens were put on this Earth to ruin meteor shower .
If you ’re in the country , go see a big open field . If you ’re in the city , get out if you’re able to . If you ca n’t get out , attempt to find a high-pitched stop . Avoid street lamp when possible ( or , take a page from astronaut Don Pettit ’s volume andhack them – RESPONSIBLY – with a optical maser pointer ) , and endeavor to position yourself such that the moon is hidden from view behind a Alfred Hawthorne , a edifice , or some trees .
These measures can make an tremendous difference . The pictures feature here compare the night sky as see from two point in Utah located just 75 miles aside . The dispute ? The bottom photo was taken in a major metropolitan surface area , the top photo a rural town . ( See more info here . ) TheClear Sky Chartwebsite has a great inclination of optimal viewing locations organized by state , so go check it out .
Once you ’re all settled in , give yourself at least 20 minutes for your eyes to fully adapt to the darkness . How do you know if your eye have adapted ? A upright regulation of pollex enjoin if you could seeall seven of the Little Dipper ’s principal starsyou’ll see plenty of meteors . If you ca n’t spot all seven it ’s not a big hatful , you ’ll probably only spot that many under optimum conditions .
Know When and Where to Look
The Lyrids are a notoriously unpredictable bunch . Sometimes this shower peaks at just 20 meteoroid per hour , but they ’re also have a go at it for really bring the awesome when you least look it . On a unspoiled year , during what ’s know as an “ outburst , ” stargazers have been fortunate enough to spot up of 100 Lyrid meteoroid per 60 minutes during visor stargazing hours .
As for when to find out : The action for this year ’s Lyrids spans April 16th through the 25th , but most fit in your skillful bet will be the pre - dawn hour of Wednesday , April 22 and Thursday , April 23rd . If you could only wake up betimes ( or stay up of late ) for one , go with Thursday morning time ; astronomer ca n’t say exactly , but many expect this is when the shower will be at its most prolific . No matter when you watch , though , you ’re decease to want to keep your eye disrobe in the hours between local midnight and sunrise .
As for where to count , that count on who you ask . Some the great unwashed will tell you to see towards the radiant , from which the shot star will appear to emanate . The Lyrids will appear to give forth from the configuration Lyra , near the bright star Vega . Here ’s what you should be appear for , looking to the northeastern United States in the pre - dawn hours of April 22 :
Image Credit : Universe Today / David Dickinson , Created Using Stellarium
It ’s important to bear in mind , however , that meteor ’ trails tend to be shorter the nigher they are to the radiant . Your best bet is to probably just calculate straight up , or to confront away from any stray author of light , keep in mind that meteoroid can seem anywhere in the sky .
If you ’d like to join local experts in tonight ’s showing , render seek for your neighborhood astronomy club . discover out whether they ’ll be setting up a scope you could peek through with friends .
Watching Online
cloud ruining your skygazing?Slooh , an on-line observatory , will be broadcasting live footage of the shower beginning at 5:00 atomic number 61 on Wednesday April , 22 .
NASA ’s Marshall Space Flight Center will also be hosting a livestream of the Lyrids on Monday night , starting at at 5:30 p.m. PT . you may tune up inhereandhere .
Bring the Right Stuff
Bring a reclining lawn chair , a blanket and some pillows . It ’s spring , but it ’s still cold in the early morning and you probably wo n’t be act around a whole mass , which intend you need to set warm : a beanie , mitt , thermals and a coat should do the conjuring trick — whatever you need to get comfortable and still keep your eyes on the sky .
Bringing hot chocolate and/or java is strongly bucked up . Do n’t endeavor to stand . Standing and looking up may seem like a decent enough idea , but finally your neck will get tired , and the second you take your optic off the sky is invariably when the brightest meteors of the dark will go blaze by — it ’s like a code that all meteor endure by . If you absolutely HAVE to count away , verify it ’s for something awesome like hire a sip of spicy chocolate .
You should n’t really need a telescope or binoculars , because you ’ll want to keep your eyes on as much of the night sky as potential . Bring something to snack on , but nothing you have to look at to eat . And finally , impart some good troupe , so you have somebody to “ ooh ” and “ ahh ” with while stargazing on this beautiful leap night .
reach out to the author at[email protect ] .
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