Lyrids Meteor Shower and Earth Day

Hello Fellow Observers,

I just happened to notice that the official Earth Day is April 22 this year. That is also the maximum date of the annual Lyrid Meteor Shower. It would be great to make Earth Day a good excuse to observe the night sky. I will attach a Visual Meteor report form for the American Meteor Society. This way you can contribute to real science.

The Lyrids normally reach about 15-20 meteors per hour on the maximum date. However, there have been rare years when the hourly rate is much higher. Only your observations can tell. The Lyrid meteors radiate from a point in the sky near the Lyra-Hercules border, near the naked eye star Kappa Lyrae.

All you need to observe this shower is to lie out under the stars and use your unaided eye to count the meteors. If you see one and it traces back to the area of the sky I mentioned, it is a Lyrid. If it comes from somewhere else, it is sporadic.

You can email your reports to:

Kim Youmans
AMS Visual Program Coordinator
556 Maurice Drive
Swainsboro, GA 30401
meteorsga@bellsouth.net

Good observing to you.

Chris Stephan
Robert Clyde Observatory
Sebring, Florida  USA