April’s Shooting Stars
Lyrids Radiant Credit: Adrian West
April showers? Yes! The 16th to the 26th this month brings us the April Lyrid Meteor Shower, with the peak occurring on April 22nd.
The meteors in this shower tend to be bright and leave persistent trains as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. In recent years the shower has averaged 10 to 20 meteors per hour.
You may think that this sounds like a fairly mediocre shower and not worth bothering with, but it has been known for the Lyrids to surge and rates rise rapidly to over 100 per hour! This is what makes this shower so interesting and difficult to predict. Will it be a biggy this year or not?
Lyrid meteors radiate from a point (radiant) in the constellation of Lyra and this is where this shower gets its name. The best time to look for Lyrid meteors will late in the evening on April 22nd after 10 pm as the constellation of Lyra rises up from the northeast horizon.
Posted in Meteorwatch
Will moon act as a spoiler during the shower ???
Yes pretty much especially in the small hours
What time can this be viewed in the UK please?
Please see the ISS post for times and dates over the UK in April
Sorry, I sent you to the wrong info.
Any time after dark but after midnight is best, there is a link on how to see the meteors from the article
Thanks
Thank you for the reminder.hoping for clear skies.
Hi, I just wanted to thank you for the info about the duration of the Lyrids. I wish you all the best of luck with your observations!