Skygazers to gear up as meteor showers are to light up night sky in April

 

As the major celestial event just passed on April 8, with the Total Solar Eclipse, there is another event approaching for skygazers within a few days that will light up the night sky because meteor showers are coming.

The meteor shower activity occurs annually between 15 and 29 of April. Its peak is said to be on April 22.

According to the Guardian, a comet is about to enter the inner side of our solar system with its 422-year orbit around the sun.

It was first discovered by AE Thatcher in 1861 and not until 2283. This comet is the cause behind The Lyrids Meteor Shower also called medium strength shower.

It can be best observed from the Northern Hemisphere, and some be seen in the Southern Hemisphere.

The report suggested that the meteor shower occurs with five to 20 meteors per hour and the highest of its brightness is measured at magnitude 2.

Not all meteors reach this level of brightness. Our planet is hit with dense meteoroid streams in every sixty years or so.

The last one was witnessed in 1982, and the next one is not likely to occur for a decade or two.

The stars will start burning outside our planet from April 15, however, they can be seen in the late-night hours on April 22 till the early hours of April 23.

According to Nasa, Lyrid meteor showers can cause outbursts of several meteors per hour.

"The Lyrids are known for their fast and bright meteors,” the US space agency noted. 

"Lyrids don’t tend to leave long, glowing dust trains behind them as they streak through the Earth’s atmosphere, but they can produce the occasional bright flash called a fireball.”