Lyrids still visible

The Lyrid meteor shower has already peaked, but skywatchers in parts of the U.S. and Europe can still catch stragglers through Friday, April 25. (clickondetroit.com) The shower was strongest overnight on April 21 into April 22, when observers could expect about 10 to 20 meteors an hour under dark skies. Space.com reported this year’s peak arrived with little interference from moonlight. (space.com) Sky News reported that people who missed the peak still had “the next night or two” for a realistic bonus chance, especially before dawn and away from city lights. The same report said weather and local cloud cover would decide how much of the display was actually visible. (news.sky.com) A meteor shower happens when Earth passes through a stream of debris left by a comet, and the tiny bits burn up high in the atmosphere as bright streaks. NASA says the Lyrids come from Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, a long-period comet that takes about 415 years to orbit the sun. (science.nasa.gov) The Lyrids are one of the oldest recorded meteor showers, with observations dating back about 2,700 years. NASA says Chinese observers recorded the shower in 687 B.C. (science.nasa.gov) The shower’s radiant — the point in the sky the meteors appear to come from — is near the constellation Lyra, which gives the Lyrids their name. EarthSky says viewers do not need to stare at Lyra itself, because meteors can flash anywhere across the sky. (earthsky.org) The International Meteor Organization lists the Lyrids as an annual April shower, with activity spanning mid-to-late April and a sharp peak near April 22. That makes April 23 and April 24 a narrow late window rather than a second peak. (imo.net) For anyone heading outside tonight, the advice is simple: wait for darker hours, let your eyes adjust, and look up soon. By the weekend, the Lyrids will be fading and the year’s brief April window will be over. (clickondetroit.com)