The milky way and traces of meteors illuminate the sky over Burg on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn, Germany, on April 20, 2018.Daniel Reinhardt/The Associated Press
This year’s Lyrid meteor shower is getting a boost thanks to a dim crescent moon. Skywatchers could see 10 to 20 shooting stars per hour soar across the spring sky, according to NASA, when the fiery display peaks Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
The show will be visible across the globe, but views will be best in the Northern Hemisphere. And there’s no risk of the crescent moon photobombing the Lyrid shower. It’ll set before the fun starts.
Meteor showers happen when the Earth plows through debris trails left behind by space rocks. Those stray bits get hot as they enter the atmosphere, producing fiery streaks that are also known as shooting stars.
Contrary to the name, most meteor showers are actually debris from comets. The Lyrids are the leftovers from an icy ball called Comet Thatcher.
“We only get to see the actual comet once every 415 years. But we pass through the grains that have been left in its wake every year around the same time,” said Maria Valdes, who studies meteorites and works at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
A handful of random meteors are visible on any given night. At predictable times throughout the year, enough can be seen at once to make a more exciting spectacle. The Lyrids are one of the oldest recorded meteor showers, with reported sightings dating back over 2,500 years.
To see the Lyrids, go outside after midnight and venture away from tall buildings and city lights. It’ll take at least 15 to 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the nighttime sky. Remember to resist looking at your phone.
Bring lawn chairs or a sleeping bag and be patient until the meteors reveal themselves. They’ll appear to come from the constellation Lyra in the northeastern sky.
“A meteor looks like a trail of light in the sky. What you tend to detect is the motion against the background,” said astronomer Lisa Will with San Diego City College.
The next major shower is soon approaching in early May: the Eta Aquarids, debris from Halley’s comet.