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(meteorobs) Observing Outlook April 16-23
Meteor activity finally starts to pick up as the Lyrids become active.
The moon has now left the morning sky leaving it nice and dark. The
Lyrid radiant lies in eastern Hercules and is located about 15 degrees
southwest of the bright blue star Vega. It rises in the northeastern sky
near 9pm local daylight time. You will not see much activity at that
time as the horizon blocks much of the view. Activity will be much
better after midnight when the Lyrid radiant has risen higher into the
northeastern sky.
This weekend I would not expect to see more that 1 Lyrid per hour due to
the fact that the date of maximum activity will not occur until the
following Thursday morning. As the Earth approaches the more densely
populated portions of the Lyrid orbit activity will strengthen. April
21-23 will be the prime mornings for seeing this display with an
expected 5-10 Lyrids plus the normal 5 sporadic meteors being visible
each hour from dark sky sites. Urban observers will see roughly half of
these rates due to light pollution. Hourly rates can be variable for
this shower ranging from 5 to 25 per hour. If you can only watch on one
night then choose Wednesday night/Thursday morning. The best activity
will occur in the last hours before dawn when the Lyrid radiant lies
high above and Lyrids can be seen shooting in any direction.
The Lyrids possess a medium speed and the brighter members quite often
leave a persistent train. The Lyrids are not really noted for their
fireball activity but during my many years of observing I have seen
several bright Lyrid fireballs including a beautiful blue -8 magnitude
member.
To best view the Lyrids face toward the north to east quadrant and look
at least halfway up into the sky. Toward dawn one can face any direction
as the radiant will be located nearly overhead.
If you would like to help us analyze this shower then it would be
helpful if you would record the number of Lyrids vs. non Lyrids one sees
per hour. It is also important to give us an estimate of your sky
conditions by listing the faintest star you can see. A good sky is one
where you can see stars of at least 6th magnitude. If you cannot see
stars of at least 5th magnitude then your activity will be very low.
There are some remote sites that allow a magnitude of 7.0 to be seen.
These are the best skies available and will provide the observer the
best chance of seeing impressive meteor activity.
It is also interesting and helpful to estimate the magnitude of each
meteor. This is done by memorizing stars of different magnitudes located
within your field of view. Once a meteor is seen you compare the maximum
magnitude of the meteor to the comparison stars and then assign it the
nearest magnitude. Most of the Lyrid meteors seen from dark sites will
be 2nd and 3rd magnitude.
Be sure to record any clouds that block your field of view and note any
time lost for breaks. For more information please visit the NAMN web
site at: http://web.infoavedot net/~meteorobs/guide.html
Clear skies everyone and let us know what you see!
Bob Lunsford
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