Lyrids Meteor Shower

The Lyrids offer a quiet elegance rather than a storm. For a few spring nights, tiny grains of ancient comet dust strike Earth’s atmosphere and briefly flare into light, tracing fleeting lines that connect modern observers with millennia of skywatchers who saw the same celestial sparks and wondered at their origin.

The Lyrids are one of Earth’s oldest recorded meteor displays, observed for more than 2,700 years. It occurs each April as our planet passes through a stream of debris left behind by Comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher). The meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Lyra, near the bright star Vega, and typically produce 10–20 meteors per hour under dark skies. Lyrids are known for their fast speeds and occasional bright fireballs.

The night will also feature bright Jupiter in the constellation Gemini, and the Moon nearby at an ideal phase for viewing with binoculars. Spring constellations like Boötes the Herdsman and Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, will be rising in the East.

You may also like the following events from Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute:

• This July, 19th July, 03:00 pm, Secrets of a Spy Station - STEM Summer Camp in Balsam Grove