This week get ready to watch the skies; it is the time of year for the annual Lyrid meteor shower.
The chart shows the view looking east from London at 2300 BST on the evening of peak activity, which is the night of 21 April going into 22 April. Although the peak of the shower is not until the early hours of the morning, this year a bright, waning gibbous moon will interfere with the visibility of the fainter shooting stars and so start looking in the earlier part of the night before the moon has risen.
The Lyrids originate from Comet Thatcher, which passes close to the sun every 415 years. This leaves a stream of dust in its orbit, which Earth then collides with every year, creating the annual meteor shower.
Typically, observers count between five and 20 Lyrids an hour. Although not particularly high in number they can be spectacular, leaving trails across the sky that persist for several seconds. The Lyrids all originate from the radiant point, shown on the chart, that appears to be near the bright star Vega in the constellation of Lyra.
Unfortunately, they are more difficult – but not impossible – to see from the southern hemisphere because the radiant is quite far north.
