Lyrids
Any June evening can be a good time to sit out under the stars to do some basic stargazing without binoculars or a telescope. Armed only with mosquito repellent you can scan the sky for satellites and meteors. A sharp-eyed observer can easily spot a dozen or more satellites each and every night, providing you're graced with a dark sky.
Normally you can also see maybe a half dozen or so meteors an hour. These sporadics are not associated with any meteor shower, but are just individual specks of dust that intercept the Earth. Some bigger fragments produce fireballs that can even brighten up the sky along the entire East Coast.
Well, there once was a minor meteor shower on or about June 15/16 called the Lyrids. It was discovered in 1966, put on a reasonable show for a couple of years, then it vanished. I often alerted my readers to it in the hopes that one night it would return.
Research has suggested that the Earth might not be intercepting the meteor stream any longer. However, Lyrid meteors showed increased activity during 1996, so there is hope that the shower may be reviving.
Therefore, I offer this challenge. See for yourself if this meteor shower is making a comeback. On the night of June 15/16, notice if any meteors appear to radiate out of the sky from the constellation Lyra. The radiant point is within a couple of degrees of the bright star Vega. A thin crescent Moon will set early in the evening, so it will not interfere with observing,
During the Lyrids' heyday 8-10 meteors per hour were common on peak night. Try to determine if you see more than sporadics. The Lyrids used to be faint blue meteors hitting our atmosphere at a moderately fast speed of 19.3 miles per second. Some of the bright ones left long persistent trains of dust behind as they disintegrated in our atmosphere. The Lyrid shower always had a sharp maximum of only a few hours wide, so don't give up observing too easily.
More information about the June Lyrids
Normally you can also see maybe a half dozen or so meteors an hour. These sporadics are not associated with any meteor shower, but are just individual specks of dust that intercept the Earth. Some bigger fragments produce fireballs that can even brighten up the sky along the entire East Coast.
Well, there once was a minor meteor shower on or about June 15/16 called the Lyrids. It was discovered in 1966, put on a reasonable show for a couple of years, then it vanished. I often alerted my readers to it in the hopes that one night it would return.
Research has suggested that the Earth might not be intercepting the meteor stream any longer. However, Lyrid meteors showed increased activity during 1996, so there is hope that the shower may be reviving.
Therefore, I offer this challenge. See for yourself if this meteor shower is making a comeback. On the night of June 15/16, notice if any meteors appear to radiate out of the sky from the constellation Lyra. The radiant point is within a couple of degrees of the bright star Vega. A thin crescent Moon will set early in the evening, so it will not interfere with observing,
During the Lyrids' heyday 8-10 meteors per hour were common on peak night. Try to determine if you see more than sporadics. The Lyrids used to be faint blue meteors hitting our atmosphere at a moderately fast speed of 19.3 miles per second. Some of the bright ones left long persistent trains of dust behind as they disintegrated in our atmosphere. The Lyrid shower always had a sharp maximum of only a few hours wide, so don't give up observing too easily.
More information about the June Lyrids