Lyrids Peak
How’s your weather forecast looking for early Saturday morning? If you have clear skies and are in the mood for skywatching, the annual Lyrid meteor shower peaks early tomorrow, as Earth passes through dust and debris left behind by Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1). In the pre-dawn hours (and from dark-sky locations), you may be able to see as many as 15-20 meteors per hour as these cometary remnants encounter our atmosphere, traveling at speeds of roughly 50 kilometers per second (30 miles/second).
The Lyrids generally aren’t regarded as highly as the Leonid or Perseid showers and don’t generally offer the same frequency rates — but since I’m a sucker for meteor showers, it doesn’t bother me if they pale in comparison. This year offers a good opportunity for viewing as the Moon will be relatively unobtrusive. Speaking of which, Spaceweather notes that those with the time, patience, and equipment may be able to witness a few straggling Lyrids impact the lunar surface:
Want to try? Train your telescope on the dark side of the Moon, which rises around 3 a.m. on Saturday: sky map. Lyrids will be raining down on the northern third of the visible disk. In the eyepiece, watch for fleeting, point-like flashes.
I’m not sure the Moon will clear my treeline early enough to allow for any noteworthy observing, but it might be worth a shot… sounds like fun.
8 Responses to “Lyrids Peak”
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Hey, I actually can see the Big Dipper from my apartment tonight (iow, this morning). It’s a happy day when I can look through my binoculars as the beacon on top of Williams Tower sweeps around the sky and still see Alcor and the two Mizars. Earlier, as I left to go shopping at 10:00 p.m., I was dazzled by Arcturus; through the binocs it looked like it was on fire. A mile down the road and it’s even better gazing, once one gets away from the freeway (of no love).
Do you need a wake-up call this time?
)
I will be up, because I have to be up this time tomorrow night to get my red egg. We can ponder the irony of this. Then it’s some rigorous exercise and sleeping pills, if necessary, on Sunday night. BTW, I was at Border’s at 11:00 p.m. and got BAUT a new board member, though he may start off as a lurker. A college math-major, heavy into physics, but decided to go for teaching mathematics at the high school level. Sweet, enthusiastic kid, or I should say, young man. I won’t tell you how much I spent tonight…it wasn’t too bad, really. So, tomorrow afternoon I’m finishing up the unfinished books, and starting a new one. Hmm, I’m keeping some of the books a secret, lol, but they were all from the astronomy/physics/space section. ~giggling~
Phil’s book was there by the way, even for a small ~grrr~ section.
Wolve, when I add font-color tags, the colors show up in the preview, i.e., “red egg,” and “trees should not die.” But once the post is submitted the colors disappear. I really like the zing a color here or there adds. What gives?
the meteor shower is one of the nice game in the sky, and in the dark night espcially when the street lights offs and there is dark mood, in such a surrounding the meteor shower or numbers of stars falling like the white flowers falling on the earth, they are seem to honouring earth likewise.
I think the earth very previously got the heat of the large meteor impacts and many of them cause the early time hazards, means the dinosors ruined, many meteor impact lakes made on earth, many other holes made due to big size meteores,
there is need to establish a early warning meteor falling guideline satelite so that the future’s meteoric hazards can be minimize, but in the last 35 years I have not heard any example of the big meteor falling on earth. and is it true that if a meteor falling on the earth when the atmospheric temperature rose by the sun, so the meteor can create more worsen situation and it takes more fires when it is falling on the earth.
sunil
About time you posted another article. Bad, bad wolverine.
Wolve, where are you? Did you get my email?
No meteors, but I was up at 3:00 a.m. and soon after then I saw a most beautiful, and unlikely, flock of seagulls (maybe?) fly over my apartment, so I took off to go look at the stars from a different location (stil in the city-proper). It was somewhat cloudy, but the planets were twinkling away, as were my pals M & A. (the signposts of a hint of decent gazingt amidst the light-smog).
No moon was visible, so I called a friend who works at a motel in Maine, and around 4:30-ish the Moon suddenly emerged in true Cheshire Cat form, though right now it’s more of a lefty-smile. The earthshine was palpable; the horns sharp through my binoculars. It may sound maudlin, but I fell in love with the Moon all over again. Perhaps, this is easy to do when it’s been around one’s whole life.
But get this: I’m camera-jinked. I had my Pentax SLR with me, but my battery was dying rapidly! I always carry an extra battery, but forgot I had used it last July in FL during the STS-114 launch/scrub. Too, I didn’t bring my 320mm zoom lens with me. To top it off, my car was so wet with dew (I was on top of an open roof of a parking garage), that my binoculars slid off and hit the pavement. You know those moments when you stop in frozen horror realizing your $300 pair of binocs, or whatever, just met a tragic death? Well, they were OK ~phew~ but that didn’t feel good.
Anyway, using the manual focus I could snap some pictures of the moon and sunrise, but since I had to cut the film (another mishap), I’m not holding my breath for a decent photo. Just one to show I was there will be OK by me this time. Oddly, last full moon on the 13th, I actually had my zoom lens pointing at the moon and didn’t take the picture, or any for that matter. I tend to remember things in much more detail when I don’t use a camera to take photos. (Seems strange, but my father realized this a few days ago when I described the tile inside the tunnel of a the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which we used maybe twice when returning from Wrightsville Beach, NC in the early 70s. I love that bridge.) I could have taken a picture of everything I did, everywhere I went, and I didn’t. I could say something more about this in regards to a youthful musing about, “How would I prove seeing an alien if that were to happen?” Maybe some things are better left undone or unsaid, especially on C2C, lol.
I did some writing as well as talking my friend’s ears off about a plan for a “Dark Night.” I drew little pictures, too, that I need to redo.
Venus was twinkling away; it will be very pretty tonight (really, at dawn). But the crescent Moon ruled…or at least until its competition started painting baby-blues and pinks above the horizon.
The Sun always rules,
you lonesome orb…
…without it we would never see you.
Arrgh, I could not get HTML red or # FF0000 to work.
I never did go to the church to get my red egg; I had gone for a manicure/pedicure and almost fell asleep in the chair. I was so relaxed I fell asleep at home, and upon waking I realized I just didn’t feel like going there as the service ends around 2:00 a.m. So it goes.
BTW, I don’t know what to make of Spaceweather.com and all this parad, now they’re seeing trees on the Sun. I go back to work tomorrow, so I can get my PST finally…and 20 zillion useless emails…
;-)
Solar Flare [Yes, I’m here and got your e-mail, just haven’t had a chance to reply… it’ll be forthcoming
], I think the FONT tags show up in the preview window but are overridden by WordPress and the content of my stylesheet upon submission. I’m still looking for an easy way to include different text colors in the comments section but haven’t come across any simple shortcuts yet.
I never got to see any Lyrids… when it was clear (which wasn’t for long), I didn’t see any activity. Then it hazed over pretty solidly, so I abandoned my observing plans and crashed out. Ah well, better luck next time.
beepbeep, sorry the sparse updates of late. I’ve been busy and there haven’t been as many Earthshaking new things going on in the astro world.