Lyrid Meteor Shower Entertaining Stargazers Amid Coronavirus Lockdown

April 2020 seems to be the month for celestial-night shows. Post the Brightest Super Pink Moon, the universe is being a center stage for Lyrid meteor shower. This is the annual Lyrid meteor shower which has started on Thursday (April 16) is expected to last for 10 days, ie, till April 26, 2020. This star show saw its peak this year a day before the new moon can be observed clearly in Northern Hemisphere.

Lyrid Meteor Shower Key Notes

The Lyrids meteor shower is the collective of dust and rocks which are shot by the come C / 1861 G (Thatcher) which orbits the sun every 415 years. As mentioned earlier, this event is annual and the sky is the host for this show every year in April. Its peak is expected around April 22 and in the Northern Hemisphere where the skies are clear one is expected to sight up to 20 meteors per hour when at its peak.

It is one of the oldest meteor shower being observed, but isn’t an easy one to locate. To increase your chance of sighting this you need to locate a place with minimum lighting all around and less pollution. With the lockdown situation across the globe, the latter is already in our favor. It is expected that with favorable situations, once can see up to 18 meters per hour.

While there is no perfect time to begin watching the Lyrid meteor shower, you can start your luck starting at 10 PM. However, just an hour or two before the dawn is claimed to be the best to sight the meteor. Also, the new moon is set for Wednesday, this increases the chances of the sightings. If you are lucky enough, you might get a chance to experience see some shooting stars.

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