Lyrids: A Spring Meteor Festival

Meteor shower activity picks up in the month of April, as the Lyrid meteor shower peaks during the night of the 21st, and the early morning of the 22. The best time to view the Lyrid meteor shower will be during the morning hours of the 22nd when the moon sets at around 3 am. This should give you a several hours of dark sky viewing before the sun comes up. Move away from city lights, and get out into the country side to get the darkest skies. Since it is still spring, expect a chill in the air, so bring along a warm jacket, blanket, and a Thermos of something hot to drink.

Expect to see about 10 meteors per hour with the Lyrid showers, certainly not the best rate for meteor showers. However, these showers will probably bring the darkest skies of the year for meteor viewing, as all of the other major showers for the rest of the year occur near a full moon. So if you want to wish upon a falling star this year, then the Lyrids may be your best bet.

The showers start on April 16th, and continue through the 26th. There are also a couple of other minor showers ongoing at the same time as the Lyrids. If you happen to see a meteor during this time period, be sure to trace a path back towards the meteor's origin, and you should end up in the constellation Lyra. If it is some other constellation, then you likely saw a meteor from one of these minor events.

March Quiet Month for Meteor Showers

March is a quiet month in terms of getting out to see any meteors. There are no real significant meteor showers of note. You may get lucky on any given night and see a few sporadic meteors.

But there are other gems in the sky that you can catch during the month of March. Winter constellations are visible, along with some planets. In the northern hemisphere, nights will not be quite as cold as spring approaches. It is worthwhile to get out under the stars to gear up for the summer observing season. In March, You'll still be able to see the winter constellations of Orion the hunter and Taurus the Bull. At dusk, you should be able to easily pick off Venus, one of the brighter objects in the early evening sky. Mars will be high overhead with Saturn rising later at night.

In April, meteor shower activity starts to pick up with the Lyrid meteor shower. You will need to stay up late, or get up early to be able to see any Lyrids. There will be about a half moon visible, so you should be able to get a to see after the moon sets after midnight. Lyrids are typically short lived. They are small and hit the earth at a high velocity, leaving a short bright streak in the sky.

Summer Meteor Showers

Warm muggy nights, open fields, dark skies, and large blankets on the grass - These are the best way to enjoy summertime meteor showers and UFO searches. I have spent many nights and hours under dark skies of summer. I have seen many meteors, auroras, comets, planets. Even saw the Goodyear blimp that I mistook for a UFO for a minute. But never an object that I could not identify!

Below is a schedule of some of the larger meteor showers that occur during the summer time months. For most of these showers, you will need to check on moonrise and moonset times since it will have at least a quarter of its disk showing. Some darker skies will be available later in the year. Also, do not forget to bring along some bug spray!

Lyrids

June 14-16

Delta Aquarids

July 28-29

Capricornids

July 29-30

Perseids

August 12-13

And in the fall...

Draconids

October 8-9

Orinids will offer one of the best chances for dark skies for 2009...

Orionids

October 21-22

Lyrids Meteor Shower Next Up in 2009; Moon and Venus Occultation

The calendar for meteor showers quiets down for the first couple of months of the year, now that the Quadrantids have finished. Next up are the Lyrids, but this meteor shower does not make an appearance until the third week in April.

Look for these showers to peak during the early morning hours of April 22, before sunrise. The Lyrids will not be hampered too much by moonlight. The moon will appear as a waning crescent. The shower should produce about 10 to 20 meteors per hour under dark sky conditions. If you live out in the city, then you probably should look for a dark spot away from city lights.

If you live out west then you will get a double astronomical treat. During the morning hours of the 22nd the planet Venus will pass behind the moon. This is what is know as an occultation. Folks on the east coast will miss out because it will occur after sunrise and Venus will no longer be visible.

If you have binoculars or a small telescope, they will provide pretty views. But since Venus is so bright, the backdrop of the crescent moon should still provide a spectacular site for the naked eye.