There will be free light shows available to anyone looking at the sky in April and May. The Lyrid meteor shower is projected to occur from April 15 through April 29. It will peak from April 21 to April 23. The Eta Aquarids meteor shower will also occur from April 15 to May 27. That shower will peak from May 5 through May 6.
Dr. Jimmy Irwin is a professor of astronomy at The University of Alabama. He said meteors are very small pieces of debris that burn in Earth’s atmosphere.
“A meteor is a very quick streak of light across the sky, sometimes called a shooting star. In reality, it’s just a small space pebble that’s burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere,” he explained. “It only lasts maybe a second or two. They’re very quick.”
The Lyrid meteor shower is named after the constellation Lyra. Most meteors from the Lyrid shower appear to occur within the Lyra constellation close to the star Vega, the brightest star in Lyra.
Dr. Irwin said the meteor shower is caused by debris from a comet that will be visible to Earth for more than a hundred years. “The Lyrid Meteor Shower is caused by debris left behind by Comet Thatcher. The year will be 2283 before we see Comet Thatcher again. It’s left a debris field behind nonetheless,” he explained. “Every year in about the third week of April, the Earth passes through this debris field. On those nights, you’ll be able to see as many 10 or 15 meteors per hour.”
The Eta Aquarids meteor shower occurs close to the Constellation Aquarius, although the full reach of meteor showers can occur all across the night sky. This shower is made of particles left behind by Comet Halley.
Dr. Irwin says this meteor shower will be visible from both hemispheres of the Earth but will be diminished by the brightness of a coinciding full moon. “The best night to see Eta Aquarids is between late night May 5 to the early dawn of May 6. Unfortunately, this year, that happens when the moon is near full meaning that the sky will be brighter,” he explained. “We’re going to miss some of the fainter ones, but one could still expect to see between maybe 20 to 30 per hour.”
The best times to see these showers vary. Dr. Irwin recommends viewing the Lyrid shower after midnight on April twenty-first until just before dawn on April twenty-third. He says the Eta Aquarids will be most visible overnight from May 5 to early dawn of May 6.
Dr. Irwin said there are a few tips skywatchers can follow to see the most meteors during these showers.
“The most important thing one can do is to get away from city lights. The brighter your sky is, the fewer you’re going to see because the fainter ones will be washed out. If you can find a nice open field that’s away from city lights, that’s probably the best way to go. You certainly do not need a telescope or binoculars. They would actually be useless because meteors move so fast.”
Dr. Irwin also recommends wearing warm clothing due to the late timeframes for viewing. He encourages people to watch the sky not just for these meteor showers but for the many other showers that occur throughout the year.
