Meteor shower to peak today: Here's when and the best way to watch

Written by Copernical Team Monday, 22 April 2024 14:58

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shooting stars — Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

One of the oldest known meteor showers is streaking through the sky above California. The Lyrid meteor shower was first recorded in 687 B.C. and has been studied for more than 2,000 years, according to NASA. The meteor shower occurs every April, peaking this year on April 22.

Question: What is a meteor?

Answer: Meteors are essentially debris in the sky. They come from leftover comets and broken asteroids, NASA states.

When the Earth makes passes through the meteors each year, they disintegrate.

"As they burn up in Earth's atmosphere, the meteors leave bright streaks in the sky commonly referred to as 'shooting stars,'" NASA said on its website.

This is the reason meteor showers occur around the same time of year, according to NASA.

Q: When is the Lyrid meteor shower?

A: The Lyrid meteor shower occurs every year between April 16 and April 25, according to NASA.

This year, it will peak on Monday night.

"As with most meteor showers, the peak viewing time will be before dawn, but the Lyrids will become visible beginning at about 10:30 p.m.

local time," NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com.

Q: What's the best way to watch meteor shower in California?

A: In the Northern Hemisphere, the best time to catch a glimpse of the Lyrids is to look up at the night sky during the darkest hours of the day, according to NASA.

This is either after moonset or before dawn.

An average Lyrid shower can produce 15 to 20 meteors per hour, according to Space.com, and can be visible with the naked eye.

To get the best view, NASA said you should:

Find an area away from city lights or street lights.
Bring a sleeping bag, blanket, or lawn chair.
Lie flat on your back with your feet facing east and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible.
Wait about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark.

2024 The Sacramento Bee. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Citation: Meteor shower to peak today: Here's when and the best way to watch (2024, April 22) retrieved 22 April 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2024-04-meteor-shower-peak-today.html

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