What better way to celebrate Earth Day than witnessing the rain of falling stars? The annual Lyrid meteor shower is expected to be the most prominent on Tuesday, April 22.
Lyrid meteor shower usually creates the rate of 10-20 meteors per hour, but there were times when that number went up to hundred. There is no way of knowing what maximum rate will be produced this year, though. The unfortunate circumstance is that the moon will be half-full at the time which may make it difficult to enjoy the shower to the fullest. The director of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at Marshall Space Flight Center, Bill Cooke expresses his worry by suggesting not to set high expectations because the moon will spoil a lot of the show. On the other hand, Deborah Byrd, editor of the astronomy and science website EarthSky.org is optimistic in her statement: "The Lyrids are bright, so they can withstand some moonlight". She adds that the best time to observe the Lyrids in the sky is before moonrise, on April 21, or before the dawn on April 22.
Mathematician Johann Gottfried Galle tracked down the source of the Lyrids to Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher in the late1860s, but the first mentioning of this particular meteor shower can be found in 687 BC, in The Chronicles of Zuo, written in China by Qiuming Zuo, recording that "at midnight, stars fell down like rain".
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