The Lyrid meteor shower is an event that will take place between April 16 to April 30, 2020. Experts anticipate that people will be able to see the shower begin between April 21 to 22, during its peak. This is the first meteor shower since the beginning of the year.
As per the American Meteor Society, the event on April 16 will how Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars come in alignment with Moon. This will show the beginning of the activity of Lyrids. The meteor shower is called after constellation Lyra, and the phenomenon is created by the debris left from comet Thatcher. These meteors are microscopic, and they appear to be as bright as fireballs.
All you need to know about watching them
The meteor shower will reach its peak between April 21-23. The best time to watch the shower is immediately before dawn when the Moon sets. People should be able to see them without a telescope since there has been dropping in the pollution levels due to the new coronavirus outbreak. But it really depends on the weather. You can expect to see 18 meteors per hour. However, the Lyrids are known to show up to 100 meteors per hour. This event will not occur again until 2280, because they orbit the Sun once every 415 years. The Moon will also be illuminated by an extra 1%.
This is one of the oldest known meteor showers, which have been observed for 2,700 years. The first appearance was recorded back in 687 BC by the Chinese. They are known for their fast and bright meteors. They also occurred in 1803 in Virginia, in 1922 in Greece, in 1945 in Japan, and in 1982 in the US.
