Lyrid Meteor Shower Visible Through April 26

The Lyrids, named for their location in the constellation Lyra, are debris of a comet named Thatcher and has one of the largest orbits of any of the named showers, according to a NASA website. 

Their orbit takes the meteor particles all the way past the orbit of Pluto.  

The Lyrids are one of the oldest known annual showers. Sightings of them have been found in Chinese records dating back more than 2,600 years.  

The meteors are actually tiny bits of the comet’s tail which enter the atmosphere when the Earth’s path crosses through it.  Some of the bits are no bigger than grains of sand which strike the atmosphere at over 30 miles per second, NASA explains.  It is the disintegration of these bits that causes a streak of light which we see as "shooting stars" or meteor shower.

According to McDaniel College Physics Professor Jeff Marx, the Lyrids are an interesting meteor shower.  While they tend not to have a high average hourly count, perhaps just 10 meteors an hour for most viewers, there have been recordings of unpredictable surges up to 1 meteor per minute for short durations.

“Lyrids also tend to be very fast meteors,” Marx said, “They enter the Earth’s atmosphere at over 150,000 miles per hour!  [Due to their speed] the Lyrids will begin to shine at about 70 miles above the Earth’s surface, which is about as high up as a meteor can travel and begin shining.”

Peak viewing times of the Lyrids will be April 21-22, generally in the hours before dawn as that is when viewers on Earth will be travelling in to the shower; still, gazers may still catch a glimpse of them at any time throughout the night. 

Marx said to view the Lyrids:

“Go out after dark and look to the East. The point from which the meteors will appear to radiate from will be near the bright star Vega, in the constellation Lyra.” Marx said. “As the night progresses, Vega will rise up in the Northeast and approach the Northwest horizon by the dawn of the next morning. The Moon will be approaching full that night, so its light will make it difficult to see the dimmer of the meteors. The very best viewing will be after the Moon sets around 4:15 a.m.”

In order to find the constellation Lyra look for a cluster of stars that look like a parallelogram.  The constellation is said to represent the harp of the mythological Orpheus, the Father of Song.

Marx admits that the light pollution from Westminster may interfere with meteor gazing in the heart of the city.

“Folks should go to a place where there is very little light pollution.  One doesn’t have to travel far either, just a few miles out of town would suffice.” Marx said.