Lyrid Meteor Shower 2010 (PHOTOS) To Peak On April 22nd, Earth Day

This year, the Lyrid meteor shower will be peaking on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

National Geographic has tips for the best ways and times to see the stars.

This year, Lyrid meteor activity began picking up on April 16, and the shower will run until April 25.

The Earth Day peak will actually come in the early morning hours of April 22, after the first quarter moon has sunk below the horizon, leaving dark skies. (Test your lunar smarts with our moon quiz.)

"The best time to look will be between the time of moonset [between 1 and 2 a.m., local time] and dawn, and the best way to observe the show is to recline comfortably, facing anywhere from north to east and gazing nearly overhead,"[Astronomer Anthony] Cook said.

In honor of the meteor shower, here are some cool photos from past meteor events. Enjoy! Photos and captions from AP.

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Thailand Meteor Shower

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A reservoir is seen under the sky in Prachinburi province, northeastern Thailand in the early hours on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009, as the Leonid meteor shower nears its peak.

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A reservoir is seen under the sky in Prachinburi province, northeastern Thailand in the early hours on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009, as the Leonid meteor shower nears its peak.

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Comments

[G52]

01:37 PM on 04/22/2010

I was fortunate to see one of the most intense showers of modern time about 1966 when I was a small school kid. Parents woke my brother and I up. The show was like looking at any section of sky and seeing 30+ going by at the same time. Some had trains [trails] that would last several seconds in blues, greens, yellow, and white. Every time I hear the hype about a shower now, I am a little disappointed because of the waiting. They are best seen after midnight in dark skies. [beaches, parks, mountains, or dark skies away from street lighting. If you know where the constellation is, they should rotate away from that area like the spokes of a bike. A lawn chair, blanket, and binoculars are all you need unless you want a thermos of coffee to stay awake all night.

[rf dude]

11:56 PM on 04/21/2010

'
Got my Lyrid umbrella ready...

[LMPE]

11:35 PM on 04/21/2010

I saw a meteor shower (I believe that it was Perseid) in the Columbia River Gorge in 1998.

Lyrid seems like it would be an embarrassing name, given that it sounds like lurid.

[sgmorr]

02:46 PM on 04/21/2010

Even with clear, cloudless skies, light pollution is such a problem for us in the cities that amateur astronomy is now very, very difficult at best. It's almost essential to travel out of town into the country side, if you can find any these days. Too bad for us.

[Planet Express]

01:06 PM on 04/21/2010

Hope to see it this year

"I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet."

~Jack London

[JScott]

10:44 AM on 04/21/2010

A storm front is passing thru So Cal so it will probably be overcast, and not much
can be seen.

[mag68]

12:52 PM on 04/21/2010

there's always Palm Springs...