A new NASA Science News ScienceCast video previews the Lyrid meteor shower:
Link >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rNmmHXEdTc&feature=youtu.be
(Image Source: NASA Science News)
By Glenn A. Walsh
Reporting for SpaceWatchtower
The 45th anniversary of
Earth Day coincides with the annual Lyrid Meteor Shower, which peaks
this evening (April 22) at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 23:00
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Of course, after nightfall, and
particularly after local midnight, is the best time to view any
meteor shower.
The Lyrids, which seem to stream from
the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp, occurs each
year when Earth's orbit of the Sun passes through the dusty remnants
of Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1). Under ideal conditions, this modest
meteor shower could yield 10-to-20 meteors per hour.
Clear skies are always a must for
meteor viewing, something not always available during the early
portion of “April Showers Bring May Flowers.” And, it is always
best to get away from city lights, for the chance to see the dimmer
meteors.
As always, the best viewing for a
meteor shower is between local midnight and local dawn, when the
Earth is rotating into the meteor shower. Unlike other years when the
bright Moon may interfere with viewing some of the dimmer meteors,
this year the Moon is a slender waxing crescent, setting shortly
after sunset. So Moon light will not pose a problem seeing meteors
this year.
Telescopes and binoculars are of little
use for finding meteors. Such optical devices restrict the
field-of-view, thus that you could easily miss a lot of meteors, and
the chance that you could observe a meteor with a telescope or
binoculars is not very good. The best way to look for meteors is to
lie down on the ground, or lean-back in a lawn chair, in an area with
an unobstructed view of most of the sky until you see a meteor.
Although Lyrid meteors appear to
radiate from the part of the sky near the star Vega in the
constellation Lyra the Harp, meteors can appear in any part of the
sky at any time. In many cases (but not all), the trails from Lyrid
meteors will seem to point-back to Lyra the Harp.
Although the Lyrids are considered a
modest meteor shower, on occasion an outburst could boost the hourly
meteor viewing rate closer to 90-to-100 during the peak viewing time.
This occurred in 1982, with an even greater outburst seen in 1803.
Such outbursts are rare and unpredictable. They occur when the Earth
travels through an unusually dense clump of debris from Comet
Thatcher.
So, if weather conditions permit, grab
a warm jacket and look for the Lyrids late tonight (April 22) and
early tomorrow morning (April 23).
If weather conditions are not
cooperative, some Lyrid meteors can be seen on an Internet web-cast,
sponsored by the Slooh Community Observatory (Internet link to
web-cast near end of this blog post). However, do realize that the
Slooh camera will be pointing in just one direction. Unlike a person,
who is able to scan the entire sky for meteors, a camera looking in
just one direction, in all likelihood, will not have as high a
meteor-per-hour count.
Internet Web-Cast of Lyrid Meteor Shower by Slooh Community Observatory ---
Wednesday Evening, 2015 April 22, Beginning at 8:00 p.m. EDT / April 23 at 0:00 UTC:
Link >>> http://live.slooh.com/stadium/live/lyrid-meteor-shower-2015
More on the Lyrid Meteor Shower ---
Link 1 >>> http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2015/21apr_lyrids2015/
Link 2 >>> http://www.spaceweather.com/meteors/lyrids/lyrids.html
Link 3 >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyrids
More on the constellation Lyra the Harp: Link >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyra
More on meteor showers: Link >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_shower
More on meteors: Link >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteoroid#Meteor
More on Earth Day ---
Link 1 >>> http://www.earthday.org/
Link 2 >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day
Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.
Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your inbox ?
Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >..
gaw
Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, & More: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.
No comments:
Post a Comment