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Hello again. Museum astronomy team member Niki Yarger here for another space-related blog. The annual Lyrids meteor shower, lasting from April 16 - 26, will peak April 21 - 22, 2020, which happens to coincide with a New Moon. Yay! Why is this interesting and important? And more importantly, how can you get in on the show? Just watch. 

Let’s Start with Some Background Information

1. The Lyrids meteor shower occurs every year in April when Earth orbits through a trail of particles of dust shed by the long-period Comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher). That’s kind of a mouthful but the name does lend some insightful information.
   1. It was discovered in 1861 by a fellow named A. E. Thatcher. (Go figure!)
   2. Comet Thatcher has a roughly 415-year orbit around the sun. It’s last perihelion—closest approach to the sun—in 1861. It won’t be swinging back around in view for another 256 years so that’s not what we’re looking for.  
2. As comets orbit through our solar system, they leave a trail of debris—fine dust particles that ignite when they are met with the great friction caused by encountering our gassy atmosphere. These interactions between particles cause friction, a reductive force. The particles’ kinetic energy, energy of motion, is transformed into other forms of energy, like heat and light. We see this interaction in the form of meteor showers sparkling across the night sky. 

Challenges and Impediments That Could Potentially Get in the Way of Your Viewing

1. Clouds!
   1. I can’t tell you how many meteor shower viewings have been dashed by rain showers. It’s one of my favorite weather predictors. Farmer’s Almanac ain’t got nothin’ on a meteor shower calendar.
2. The city provides us with so much … obstruction. 
   1. Lights ... and lights cause light pollution. (Side note: here's a clip about light pollution that's worth a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC_FEF6meg0)
   2. Buildings
   3. Trees
   4. Maybe you live in an apartment and all of your windows are on the same wall. Maybe that wall doesn’t face the radiant. Time to rebuild! Just kidding! Go outside, carefully and safely.
3. The Moon
   1. The moon provides its own “light pollution.” At full brightness, the moon can obscure your view of faint meteors.
   2. Fortunately, this year’s Lyrid meteor show peak coincides with a New Moon, the phase where the moon is on the daytime side of Earth and won’t shine any light on our evening skies. 
4. Electronics!
   1. Not only are meteor showers transient, they appear as quick streaks across the sky. If your pupils are adjusted to take in light from a bright phone screen, they likely won’t be open enough to let in the faint light of a passing meteor. Put the phone/tablet down for a bit. You’ve probably been on it enough anyway…
   2. These flashes are quick, often lasting only a few seconds so keep your eyes open on the sky. 

So, Here’s How We’re Going to Observe the April Lyrids Meteor Shower

1. Minimize light pollution
   1. The Moon is new so that’s helpful (although we couldn’t fix that if we wanted to).
   2. Get out of the city, if possible, or at least out from under a street light. Dark skies are your ideal backdrop. 
   3. Put your phone, tablet, laptop away and just look … up. 
2. Know where to look!
   1. The night sky is BIG and while you may see these meteors across many sectors of the night sky, there is a central point from which they appear to radiate. Let’s call it the radiant point.
   2. I like to use a handful of bright objects in the night sky to point me toward other objects I'm looking for. 
      1. You will use Vega as an approximation of the radiant point, the central location in the sky where the meteors appear to be emanating from. 
   3. So, how do we find Vega?
      1. Look to the northeast around midnight for a rising star formation. 
      2. There is an asterism made of three bright stars from neighboring constellations. This asterism is called the Summer Triangle because it looks like a triangle, you can see it in the summer, and astronomers are not very creative. 
      3. At the “top” of the triangle, i.e. the first vertex to rise above the horizon, is Vega.
      4. Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra and near the radiant point of the Lyrids meteor shower. (Lyra/Lyrids … get it? Astronomers aren’t too creative.)
      5. It will appear as though the meteors are streaking away from the star Vega across the night sky.  
3. Bring your favorites: snacks, beverages, pets, stuff animals, warm blanket and family members who can stay up that late.
4. Have patience!
   1. I always say that I like to think about meteor showers kind of like fishing: maybe you catch something, maybe you don’t. Bring your favorite snacks, beverages and company and enjoy the passage of time together. 
5. Check the weather!
   1. You won’t be able to see interactions with the upper atmosphere if there is cloud coverage in the lower atmosphere, so check the forecast before going anywhere to snag your prime dark viewing location.
6. In case of rain, you can always check out views from elsewhere in the world, or even check out some simulations!
   1. www.meteorshowers.org is a great way to see how meteor showers and their parent comet bodies behave through space and time.  

So, if the conflagration of space dust tickles your fancy, check out the Lyrids meteor shower through April 26. Look for ideal conditions on the 21st and 22nd to enjoy the visual effects of our home planet whipping its way at 67,000 miles per hour on our predictable path through the solar system. It is wild.