I know it's only Tuesday, but I wanted to do a Science Friday post about the Lyrid meteor shower. Tonight will be the peak of this annual meteor shower. According to astronomers, 2009 is a great year for the Lyrid shower. With almost no moon to ruin the show (the New Moon phase is 2 days away), stargazers should have a great view.
The Lyrid meteors are named after the constellation Lyra from which they appear to radiate. The constellation Lyra is easy to find because it's marked by the brilliant blue-white star Vega (the 5th brightest star in the sky).
It is thought that the actual meteorite particles are debris from Comet Thatcher. Lyrid meteors tend to be bright and often leave trails. About 10-20 meteors per hour at the peak of the shower are to be expected. However, surges can sometimes bring the rate up to 100 per hour, but these rather rare outbursts are not easy to predict. It's interesting to note that people have been recording observations of this shower for at least 2600 years, which is longer than any other meteor shower in history.The best time to view this shower is from 3am - dawn. However, stray meteors may be visible anytime after midnight. The meteors will appear directly overhead (which makes them easy to spot for us non-astronomer types) and if you miss them tonight, the shower will still be visible until April 25.
