Lyrids

The Lyrids are associated with long period comet C/Thatcher, discovered in 1861. The meteors appear to radiate from an area of sky near the Lyra/Hercules border, very close to the bright star Vega.

This very narrow stream of particles disintegrate after hitting our atmosphere at a moderate speed of 29.8 miles per second, and they often produce luminous trains of dust that can be observed for several seconds. And though Lyra is well up in the eastern sky before midnight, the Lyrids perform better after the midnight hour.

Over the last decade the Lyrids have waned and waxed in numbers, so much so that this compiler stopped writing about them. The once normal peak rate was from 15-20 swift and bright meteors per hour at peak.

Since this shooting star display has had unexpected increases in numbers from time to time, perhaps it’s time for the casual stargazer to give it another look to see if the meteor rates have once again improved.