Here’s something to look out your window for. The Lyrid Meteor Shower is gracing our skies very soon and it’s certainly not one to miss.
This particular shower is usually active between April 16 and 25 every year, but there is one night where the shower is expected to peak. Head outside on the evening of Wednesday, April 22 to see up to 18 meteors per hour in the night sky. This interactive map can tell you exactly where to look.
The fireballs are created by debris from the comet Thatcher. The Lyrids are actually one of the oldest recorded meteor showers with some historical Chinese texts mentioning the shower over 2,500 years ago.
The best part? You don’t need any special equipment or really any astronomical skills to view this meteor shower. Obviously the number one thing you need to hope for is clear skies (come on Melbourne, don’t let us down!) but we’d also suggest spending longer than the average two minutes looking up at the sky. Your eyes often take 15 to 20 minutes to get used to the dark, so we suggest getting comfy and waiting it out. Keep in mind that Lyrid meteors are relatively fast, but on the plus side they are surprisingly bright.
Happy meteor watching!