Get the Celestron 21035 travel scope out, lads.
The Lyrid meteor shower is expected to be visible from Ireland tomorrow morning, as the skies are due to be lit up by 18 meteors per hour.
The shower is set to be at its most visible at 1pm tomorrow, April 22, but astronomers have said that sky gazers should be able to witness the event from the early morning time.
Unfortunately, the moon will be in its waxing gibbous phase, which means that the Lyrid shower may not be all that bright to the naked eye, but hey, maybe the conditions will surprise us.
“Since the peak occurs during the day the best time to try to spot the shower will be before sunrise on the 22nd or after sunset,” said Tania de Sales Marques, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
“It is expected that this meteor shower will produce around 18 meteors per hour. The Lyrids have been observed as far back as 687 BC, the oldest known record of any meteor showers still visible today.
“It is a moderate shower with the occasional fireballs, nicknamed the Lyrid Fireballs.”
Meteor showers, also known as shooting stars, occur when meteor debris burn up and enter Earth’s atmosphere, causing bright streaks of light across the sky.
This particular shower contains pieces of meteorites from the Thatcher Comet. This comet is currently travelling outside of the inner solar system and is expected to return in 2276.
Sky gazers hoping to catch a glimpse of the shower tomorrow should also be able to see Vega, the brightest star of Lyra, where shooting stars appear to come from.
“It is worth mentioning that meteors will be visible all over the sky, not just in the direction of the radiant,”de Sales Marques went on, “so to maximise your chance of spotting meteors, try to find a safe place that has an unobstructed view of the whole sky.
“As with any stargazing, you’ll need to allow at least 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark.”
