2023-04-22 12:00:00
Meteor showers are one of the most anticipated astronomical phenomena. The way in which they flood the night sky with sparkles makes them attractive to observers of all ages since ancient times. Thus, with the arrival of each year, there are marked on all calendars as relevant dates that cannot be overlooked.
Right at the start of April, preparations begin to enjoy one of these astronomical phenomena: the lyrid meteor shower. These meteors will flood the night sky covering it with so-called shooting stars between the nights. April 16 and 26finding the point of maximum activity and frequency of events in the early morning of April 23rd.
But do you know why these types of astronomical events occur? And what is the origin of the Lyrids and how to enjoy them to the fullest?
HOW DO METEOR SHOWERS ORIGINATE?
Los meteoroids They are the particles that are released from comets that cross the Solar System. When the trajectory of these particles is in the Earth’s orbit, the suspended meteoroids collide with the atmosphere becoming meteorsand disintegrating causing the visible trail of light.
These meteoroids scattered around a comet’s orbit can originate in two different ways. Astronomer Fred Whipple stipulated in a 1951 study that one of them is by entrainment of water vapor. Thus, Whipple compared comets with “dirty snow or ice balls” formed by the encrustation of certain rocks that orbit in the Cosmos. That “ice” or “snow” that holds the solid fragments together will be water, methane or ammonia and, although the size of the rocks is diverse, the most abundant will be comparable to small grains of sand.
NASA
In this way, when the comet passes close to the stars (the Sun in the case of the Solar System), part of that ice vaporizes due to the increase in temperature and, along with it, dust particles remain suspended in the vapordetaching from the comet and adopting the state of meteoroids.
For his part, the scientist Petter Jenniskens contributed a study in 2006 where he incorporated another origin for some of the meteor showers observable from planet Earth. It would be the case of the Quadrantids and the Geminedas. According to the scientist, in the case of both phenomena, the meteors would have their birth in the breakup of multiple asteroids 500 and 1000 years ago. These fragments, dispersed throughout the Universe, would quickly tend to disintegrate in the form of dust and sand, spreading through the orbit of astronomical objects that attract them and forming a dense stream of meteoroids that evolves towards Earth’s orbit.
FROM METEOROID TO METEOR
The meteor shower then occurs when those dispersed solid particles, the meteoroids, get in the way of Earth’s orbit. So, they hit the atmosphere and enter it. At this time they become known by the name of meteors. They can only be called meteorites those that manage to reach the earth’s surface and, therefore, have at least a considerable initial mass (of more than 1 kg), as well as a certain consistency as a solid.
With the entry of the meteor into the atmosphere, a flash in the form of a light path because of the disintegration of the object. This is because the collision of the meteor with the air molecules of the atmosphere causes heating by friction and completely evaporates them. Those evaporated atoms collide again with other air molecules, detaching electrons from the atoms and generating a lot of energy which is displayed in the form of a flash of light. This process is known as ionization.
NASA
Three meteors captured during the Leonid shower
Although the punctual phenomena of meteor showers are the most visible, since, in some cases, they appear up to 100 meteors per hour, the frequency of such objects entering the atmosphere is constant. In fact, it is estimated that some 100 million meteors they can be observed with the naked eye all over the planet in about 24 hours. On your web resource Eyes on Asteroidsat NASA retransmit live the situation of each of the meteoroids identified in the Solar System, as well as the trajectory of those larger asteroids together with a countdown with the moment of closest approach that they will have to the planet.
THE RAIN OF LYRIDS IN APRIL
The meteor shower known as lyrids It will fill the night sky for the entire second half of April. Thus, the phenomenon will be appreciable between April 16 and 26reaching the point of maximum meteor activity from dusk on the 22nd to dawn on the 23rd.
The origin of this shower is in the course of meteoroids from the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, from which they fragmented due to vaporization processes. For this reason, the size of the particles will be grains of sand that will disintegrate on contact with the atmosphere in the form of flashes of light and none of them are expected to reach the Earth.
This rain is the oldest reportedsince there are certain files that document them already in the year 687 BC
NASA
Radiant point of the Lyrid shower
The best way to observe it will therefore be at dawn on April 23 in areas where light pollution is minimal. He radiant point of the rain in the sky, that is, the point to which the shooting stars seem to converge due to the perspective of their trajectories, is the constellation of Lyra (hence its name), at a point close to its brightest star, vega. Regardless, the flares will be scattered throughout the night sky, so looking at this point is not essential. If your plan is to use a telescope and you want focus to sweet spotthe experts assure that the meteors come from a correct ascension of 18h and 04m, with a declination of +34º.
more meteor showers in 2023
Each year’s calendar begins with a total of 10 meteor showers correctly fixed. We collect below those marked for this 2023 together with their specific dates so that anyone who wishes can write them down and prepare their observation in advance.
| METEOR SHOWER | VISIBILITY RANGE (2023) | POINT OF MAXIMUM ACTIVITY |
| quadrantids | December 28, 2022 – January 12 | January 4 |
| lyrids | April 16 – April 25 | April 23 |
| And Acuáridas | April 19 – May 28 | 6 mayo |
| Delta Aquarids | July 12 – August 23 | 30 julio |
| Perseids | July 17 – August 24 | August 13th |
| Draconids | October 6 – October 10 | October 9 |
| Orionids | 2 October – 7 November | October 22 |
| Leonidas | November 6 – November 30 | November 18 |
| Geminids | December 4 – December 17 | December 14 |
| ursids | December 17 – December 26 | December 23 |
#Lyrids