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Bolide (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Been reading about the Lyrid meteor shower which is to peak tonight (Saturday, April 21) and tomorrow (Sunday, April 22). Saturday is supposed to be the
Scientists say:
“Typically, about 10 to 15 meteors or meteorites are visible per hour,” said Renner. “However, this year, we have a ‘new' moon, which means dark skies and conditions favorable for seeing more meteors. Incidentally, the peak of the Lyrid shower is actually Saturday evening/early Sunday morning. That's when I plan to look for some.”
io9 has a great guide for how to catch the meteor shower and there the Meteor Counter App from NASA for those of you who want to be citizen scientists and help count meteors.
I highly recommend the app StarWalk to find the constellations (my friend Steve Dembo showed this one to me in Canada a few weeks a go – it works wherever you are and is amazing.)
If you want to talk about the planets before it gets dark, my favorite computer apps are Stellarium, Microsoft Worldwide Telescope and Google Sky – all free.
This is a perfect example of how schools just cannot complete your child's education. Grab your children and grandchildren, find a place to view, bring out the hot chocolate and enjoy the meteor shower.
Related articles
- Lyrid Meteor Shower 2012 Not to Be Missed, Peaks Tonight (VIDEO) (blippitt.com)
- Everything you need to know to catch this weekend's Lyrid meteor shower [Space] (io9.com)
- Clear skies expected for tonight's meteor shower (statesman.com)
- Lyrids Meteor Shower Peak April 21 (naturalhistorywanderings.com)
- Lyrid Meteor Shower To Peak This Weekend (inquisitr.com)
- Need Saturday Night Plans? Check Out the Lyrid Meteor Shower (ecorazzi.com)
- Good viewing for the Lyrid meteor shower tonight – Summit County Citizens Voice (summitcountyvoice.com)
- Lyrid Meteor Shower Peaks April 21/22, 2012 (universetoday.com)
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