ATLANTA (CNN) – Every year from January to mid-April, we experience a ‘meteor drought’ without a single shower for months.
It all ends on April 22 this year with the first show of the season: the annual Lyrid meteor shower.
“These dazzling meteors are fast and clear, with a striking golden dust trail behind them,” CNN meteorologist Judson Jones said.
The Lyrids, which can best be seen from the Northern Hemisphere, have been observed for 2,700 years, according to NASA. At its peak, this shower will contain about 10 meteors per hour.
You can even see a fireball flying over the sky or the glowing dust trail that the meteors often leave behind as they streak through the Earth’s atmosphere.
As with all meteor showers, the darker the sky, the more visible the Lyrids will be. If you want to see it, you have the best of luck away from urban areas where city lights can obstruct the view.
“Light pollution is one of the biggest problems seeing meteors, and it seems to get worse every year,” Jones said.
But there is another factor that affects light: the moon. This year, the moon will be in its growing gibbous phase; it will be about 70% lit. Because the moon will be so bright, according to EarthSky, it is suggested that you see the sky after sunset and before sunrise.
Between midnight and dawn, the Lyrid meteors can be seen in all parts of the sky, according to the American Meteor Society. The best time to view it on April 22 is the last hour before the start of the morning twilight: about 4-5 hours of local daylight.
After deciding to view your place and time, come prepared with a blanket and simply lie back, with your feet to the east and looking at the sky. Take 30 minutes beforehand to adjust your eyes in the dark without looking at your phone.
Be patient, as the AMS suggests: “Serious observers should watch for at least an hour while numerous peaks and valleys of activity occur.”
When you catch a meteor in the sky, you see one of the lost pieces of Comet Thatcher, the source of the Lyrid meteors. These fragments fly 110,000 miles per hour into our upper atmosphere as the earth’s orbit crosses its path.
“When these pieces interact with our atmosphere, it burns up to reveal the fiery, colorful stripes we can find in our night sky,” Jones said.
If you miss the meteors this week, but still want to look at the sky, you’ll see next week’s “pink” full supermoon on April 26th. Although the moon will not actually be pink, it will look extra bright as super moons are slightly closer to the earth.
Here’s what you can look forward to in 2021.
More meteor showers
You do not have to wait long before the Lyrids meteor shower arrives on the Eta water people, which peaks on May 5 when the moon is 38% full. This shower is best seen in the southern tropics, but will still provide a medium shower for those north of the equator.
The Delta waters are also best seen from the southern tropics and will peak between July 28 and 29 when the moon is 74% full.
Interestingly, another meteor series reached a climax on the same night – the Alpha Capricornids. Although it is a much weaker shower, it is known to produce some bright fireballs during the peak. It will be visible to those on either side of the equator.
The Perseid meteorite shower, the most popular of the year, will peak in the Northern Hemisphere between 11 and 12 August, when the moon is only 13% full.
Here’s a meteorite schedule for the rest of the year, according to EarthSky’s prospects.
- October 8: Draconids
- October 21: Orionied
- November 4-5: South Taurides
- November 11-12: Northern Taurids
- November 17: Leonids
- December 13 to 14: Gemini
- December 22: Ursids
Solar and lunar eclipses
This year, there will be two eclipses of the sun and two eclipses of the moon – and three of these will be visible to some in North America, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
A total eclipse of the moon will occur on May 26, best visible to those in western North America and Hawaii from 2:46 a.m. to 7:51 p.m.
A ring eclipse of the sun occurs on June 10, which is visible in the north and northeast of North America from 2:12 a.m. to 7:11 p.m. The sun will not be completely blocked by the moon, so wear sunglasses to see this event safely.
On November 19, a partial eclipse of the moon is seen, and aerial viewers in North America and Hawaii can see it between 23:00 and 18:00 to 17:06 hours MT November 19.
And the year ends with a total eclipse of the sun on December 4th. It will not be seen in North America, but those on the Falkland Islands, the southern tip of Africa, Antarctica and Southeast Australia, will be able to spot it.
Visible planets
Skywatchers have several opportunities during the morning and during 2021 to locate the planets in our sky, according to the Farmer’s Almanac planetary guide.
It is possible to see most of these with the naked eye, with the exception of Neptune, but binoculars or a telescope offer the best view.
Mercury looks like a bright star in the morning sky from June 27 to July 16, and October 18 to November 1. It will shine in the night sky from 3 May to 24 May, 31 August to 21 September and Nov 29 to 31 December.
Venus, our closest neighbor in the solar system, will appear in the western sky on the evening of May 24 to December 31. It is the second brightest object in our sky after the moon.
Mars displays its reddish appearance in the morning sky between November 24 and December 31 and will be visible in the evening sky between January 1 and August 22.
Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, is the third brightest object in our sky. It will be shown in the morning sky between February 17 and August 19. Look at it in the evenings from 20 August to 31 December – but it will be at its brightest from 8 August to 2 September.
Saturn’s rings are only visible through a telescope, but the planet itself can still be seen with the naked eye in the mornings from February 10 to August 1 and the evenings from August 2 to December 31. It will be at its brightest between 1-4 August.
A pair of binoculars or a telescope will help you spot the green glow of Uranus in the mornings from May 16 to November 3 and the evenings from January 1 to April 12 and November 4 to December 31 – but at its brightest between August 28. to 31 December.
And our most distant neighbor in the solar system, Neptune, is visible through a telescope on the mornings from March 27 to September 13 and the evenings from September 14 to December 31. It will be at its brightest between 19 July and 8 November.
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