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Astronomers enjoyed a heavenly display as the Lyrids lit up the skies on Tuesday night.
The meteor shower peaked on the night of April 21 and was visible until the early hours of April 22.
Meteor showers, or shooting stars, are caused when pieces of debris, known as meteorites, enter Earth’s atmosphere at speeds of around 43 miles per second, burning and causing light rays.
The Lyrids takes its name from the Lyra the Harp constellation, from which shooting stars seem to originate.
Meteorites are fragments of debris falling from the comet named C / 1861 G1 Thatcher, which is expected to return to the inner solar system in 2276, after an orbital period of 415 years.
Tania de Sales Marques, an astronomer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, told the AP news agency: “Comets are basically dirty ice balls that heat up when the comet approaches the Sun, releasing dust and gases into space, and if the Earth moves. throughout its orbit around the Sun, it encounters these dust clouds, then we get a meteor shower. “
She told PA on Tuesday night: “We could see up to 18 meteors per hour and maybe even an occasional fireball.”
The lyrics occur between April 16 and 25 of each year. Although this year’s peak may have passed, some of the shooting stars may be visible on Wednesday night.
The next meteor shower, the Eta Aquarids, is expected to peak between midnight and dawn on May 5-6.
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