Lyrids Meteor Shower 2010 Peaks Tonight on April 21

The Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks tonight (April 21) and Lowell Observatory  will offer a special presentation at 7 p.m. to discuss the nature of  this and other meteor showers.

Rain or shine, you can also enjoy  indoor exhibits, our new ViewSpace mulitmedia astronomy display,  programs with our mini planetarium, telescope dome tours and more.

The shower usually peaks on around April  22 and the morning of April  23. Counts typically range from 5 to 20  meteors per hour, averaging  around ten. Observers in the country will see more, observers in the city less.

First  a word about the moon — it is not your (the expectant meteor  watcher’s)  friend. Light reflecting off a bright moon can be just as  detrimental to good  meteor viewing as those bright lights of the big  city. There is nothing you can  do except howl at the moon, so you’ll  have to put up with it or wait until the  next favorable shower. Even  though the 2010 Perseids and Geminids will share  the night sky with the  moon, they are still expected to produce more visible  meteor activity  than other major showers that don’t have an interfering moon.

It is not until after midnight that the earth is turned into the path of  the comet, so if you go out early in the evening, you may see some  meteors but not as many as you would later in the night. The best way to  enjoy them is to throw a blanket on the ground and lie down so that you  can see as much of the sky as possible. I plan to set my alarm for  early morning to see if the skies are clear.

It’s the Lyrids! They will be here strongest between 1 and 3 in the  morning. I probably won’t be getting up. It’s going to be cloudy here,  and full of light pollution.