8:45 AM | Lyrid meteor shower peaks late tonight

Discussion

Earth is entering a stream of debris from Comet Thatcher, the source of the annual Lyrid meteor shower. This particular meteor shower has been seen each April for more than 2600 years making it one of the oldest known meteor showers. If forecasters are correct, April’s top meteor shower will peak late tonight with 10 to 20 meteors visible per hour. The best time to look for the meteors is between about 11 pm and sunrise on Thursday. Skies should clear somewhat by late tonight in the Mid-Atlantic region following the passage of a strong cold frontal system allowing for possible viewing of the meteor shower.

The Lyrids are quite unpredictable and have a history of putting on surprising performances. In 1982 and way back in 1922, the shower delivered a reported 90 meteors per hour. In 2014, the Lyrids were hampered in part due to moonlight from the last-quarter moon, but that won't be the case this year. This year the moon will be a waxing crescent - only one-fifteenth the brightness of a full moon - and it will set early allowing for excellent dark sky conditions for this shower. Typically, Lyrids produce a gratifying number of fireballs, which is somewhat surprising since their relatively moderate speeds of 30 miles per second is only about 75 percent that of the August Perseids or November Leonids. The Lyrids radiant point is about 10 degrees southwest of the blue-white star Vega (see sky map above). The Lyrid meteor shower lasts from roughly April 16-26 each year, but it is best seen on only about two nights.