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The Lyrid meteor shower is the first big meteor shower of the year – and it’s set to treat us all to fireballs tonight (if you’re lucky).
With an almost full Moon at the height of a meteor shower, the conditions this year are unfortunately unfavourable. However, while the Perseid meteor shower (mid-July to August) is the fireball-producing champion, the Lyrids also have surprising fireball potential.
It is one of the oldest known meteor showers, with recorded observations dating back at least 2,700 years. Chinese astronomers were the first to report the Lyrids, when there was a burst of activity in 687 BC. Systematic studies of the meteor shower did not begin until the 19thed century, however, when further eruptions occurred in 1803 and 1833.
So how can you get the best chance of seeing Lyrid? What causes this meteor shower? And in which direction should you look?
If this year’s conditions are a little too oppressive, why not take a look at our astrophotography guide, and learn how to take your best ever picture of the Moon.
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When can you see the Lyrid meteor shower in 2024?
The best time to see the Lyrid meteor shower is during its peak on Monday night (22-23 April 2024) in the UK and USA. However, this coincides with an almost full Moon (the full pink Moon is the next night, 23-24 April) – which is not only bright but above the horizon for most of the night. The best time to see the Lyrids is in the pre-dawn hours.
The shower started on 14 April 2024 and will continue until 30 April. It is a cyclical shower and occurs around the same dates every year.
Where to look to see Lyrid
The radiant for the Lyrids – this is the point in the sky from which meteors appear to originate – is in the constellation Lyra the Lyre.
The radiant for the Lyrids will rise higher as the night progresses during the peak of the shower. The higher the radiant, the more chance we have of seeing shooting stars, and the less chance they will be lost below the horizon.
Look about two-thirds up in the sky (about 60-degree height), and slightly away from the radiant. Meteor trails will look longer at about 90 degrees from the radiant, making them easier to see. Try to take in as much of the sky as you can in your line of vision.
Located between the Summer Triangle and the constellation Hercules, Lyra is one of the smallest constellations. Thankfully, it’s also one of the most distinctive, as it forms a prominent parallelogram and contains Vega – a great white star, and the fifth brightest in the night sky.
Hopping is a great way to help you find Lyra:
- First, locate the Summer Triangle asterism: Lyra is a prominent constellation within the Summer Triangle. The Summer Triangle is formed by three bright stars: Vega (in Lyra), Altair (in Aquila the Eagle), and Deneb (in Cygnus the Swan). Look for these three stars, which should be visible in the eastern sky during the evening hours in April.
- Identifying Vega: Vega is the brightest star in Lyra and acts as a key marker for locating the constellation. It is a bright, bluish star, which makes it easy to see.
- Trace Lyra’s Shape: Once you’ve found Vega, look for the distinctive parallelogram shape that makes up Lyra’s main body. Vega marks one of the corners of this shape. From there (and with a bit of imagination) you can see the rest of the constellation outline. Lyra is like a small harp or lyre.
And if all else fails, grab your phone and download an astronomy app to show you what’s what (remember to use your phone’s red light filter).
How visible will the Lyrids be?
When the meteor shower reaches its peak on April 22-23, the Moon will be about 99 percent illuminated. It will also be above the horizon for most of the evening. The Full Moon (April’s Pink Moon) occurs the following night on 23-24 April, so conditions this year are challenging.
At 99 percent illumination, the bright Moon will drown out all but the brightest meteors, planets, stars and constellations. It will also cast a glow over the whole sky (known as ‘moon glare’), which further hinders the proceedings.
Then there is the effect on the dark adaptation of our eye. We always recommend that you take 10-20 minutes to let your eyes adjust to the dark. Otherwise, it’s easy to get discouraged about not being able to see anything after coming out of a brightly lit room. The bright light from the nearly full Moon can slow down and interrupt our accumulated dark vision, making meteors even more difficult to see.
That is not to say that this year’s Lyrids are at their peak under absolutely impossible conditions. We’ll still have a shot at seeing some of the brighter meteors, including possible fireballs.
How many meteors will we actually be able to see?
With perfect conditions, a beam high above and a dark sky, we can expect to see about 18 meteors an hour. The number of visible meteors varies from year to year, with most years producing between 10-20 meteors. However, this year, thanks to that nuisance-of-the-moon, it will be significantly less.
“Due to the bright Full Moon occurring within a day of the peak of this meteor shower, only the few brightest meteors will be bright enough to outshine the Moon, so there may only be 3 or 4 meteors per we will see them every hour this year. ,” explains Dr Darren Baskill, an astrophysicist from the University of Sussex.
“The best meteor shower this year will be the Perseids in mid-August, once the Moon has set. Then, we could see a meteor every 5 minutes from towns and cities, and as many as one per minute from the darkest sites in the world!”
What causes the Lyrid meteor shower?
Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through a field of debris left behind by a comet or asteroid.
This debris orbits the Sun, in the same way that the Earth also orbits the Sun. And when the Earth’s orbit crosses this debris field, the small pieces of dust and particles burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere. This produces bright streaks of light that we see as meteors (shooting stars).
Most particles that produce meteors are about the size of a grain of sand, while larger pieces produce fireballs.
When we talk about a meteor shower at its ‘peak’, that is when we are passing through the ‘core’ (the densest part) of the debris stream and more meteors are visible.
The Lyrids are known for their bright, fast-moving meteors. They also tend to leave continuous trails in the sky, which is useful when contending with an interfering Moon.
The parent body of the Lyrids is a comet, comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. This is a long period comet that orbits the Sun once every 415.5 years. The last perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) was reached in 1861, so we still have a long time before returning to our neighborhood (around the year 2276).
Lyrid meteor shower: View tips
If you are determined to try your luck, then there are a few things you can do to maximize your chances:
- Reduce light pollution: Try to find a location away from bright lights. Keep any lights that cannot be avoided out of your direct line of sight.
- Allow night vision to develop: Let your eyes adjust to the darkness as best you can despite the intervening Moon. Sit outside for about 20 minutes, and you’ll notice that you start to pick up more details in your surroundings.
- Looking away from the Moon: If you can, choose a spot where the Moon is hidden by foliage or buildings.
- Look for meteor trains: Meteor trains can stay in the sky for a few seconds after the initial meteor, giving you a better chance of spotting the elusive visitors.
- Use a red light filter: If you need to look at your phone, books, or anything else, use a red light filter. This will help you avoid ruining your accumulated night vision.
- Watch out for fireballs: Although rare, we may have the chance to see some fireballs during the Lyrid meteor shower. These are often seen over a wide area and seen by many people, or caught on video doorbell cameras.
About our expert
Dr. Darren Baskill is an outreach officer and lecturer in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sussex. Before that he lectured at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, where he also started the annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.
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