Lyrids drowned in moonlight, but Vega shines on
Discuss Print Me Email to FriendTonight is Monday, Apr 20 2009
The 2008 Lyrid meteor shower – which peaks around now – will be drowned in bright moonlight. The moon is full on April 20, and its light is washing the sky throughout the night. Only the most stalwart meteor-watching try to observe a shower in bright moonlight, but – if you keep an eye out – you might spot a meteor or two flashing by in the moon’s glare, especially around the time of the shower’s peak Monday night, April 21.
And even the brightest moonlight can’t diminish the light of Vega, the heaven’s 5th brightest star and the brightest light in the constellation Lyra. This star marks the approximate direction of the point in the sky from which the Lyrid meteors (mostly unseen this year) will be radiating.
This dazzling white star rises in the northeastern sky at 9:30 p.m. or so. Today’s chart shows it in late evening, ascending in the northeast. The radiant point for the meteors is just a bit to the upper right of Vega. The best time for meteor-watching, of course, is nearly always after midnight.
Just realize that – even in years when the moon is out of the sky – you won’t see Lyrid meteors at the radiant point. The radiant marks the rough direction where the Earth intersects the orbit of space particles – left behind by comets. When these particles enter Earth’s atmosphere, they spread out a bit before the grow hot enough (due to friction with the air) to be seen. So meteors in annual showers are typically seen over a wide area centered on the radiant, but not precisely at the radiant.
