Yearly Lyrid Meteor Shower Is Coming…Not Rare But Really Cool [VIDEO]

This YouTube Video is from last year but it still has lots of interesting info.

According to Earth Sky It’s nearly time for the annual Lyrid meteor shower. The shower is active each year from about April 16 to 25. In 2013, new moon comes on April 10. Afterwards, the moon will be waxing and in the evening sky. Full moon falls on April 25, and around that time the sky will be bright with moonlight for much of the night. The short-lived Lyrids peak usually lasts for less than a day, coming yearly on or near April 22. Due to the moon phase in 2013, the predawn hours on April 22 will be best for meteor-watching. At their peak, the Lyrids offer about 10 to 20 meteors an hour. So heads up! It’s nearly Lyrids meteor-watching time.

In 2013, the Lyrids are expected to produce the most meteors in the dark hours before dawn on April 22. The big and bright waxing gibbous moon will be interfering with the Lyrid display until shortly before dawn. So plan to get some sleep, and set your alarm for a few hours before the April 22 sunup.

Meteor-watching aficionados will be on the lookout, even though the Lyrids are oftentimes a tepid shower. Meteor showers are notorious for defying the most careful predictions, and the Lyrids stand as no exception. An outburst of Lyrid meteors is always a possibility, though none is predicted for this year.

For instance, American observers saw an outburst of nearly 100 meteors per hour in 1982. Also in the 20th century, around 100 meteors per hour were seen in Greece in 1922 and from Japan in 1945. So you never know . . .

The Lyrid meteor shower is among the oldest of known meteor showers, with records going back for some 2,700 years. Apparently, the ancient Chinese observed the Lyrid meteors “falling like rain” in the year 687 BC.