The Watchers - 18 April 2013 - by Chiffre
Earth is approaching the debris field of ancient Comet Thatcher, source of the annual Lyrid meteor shower. Every year in late April Earth passes through the dusty tail of Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1), and the encounter causes a meteor shower – the Lyrids.Flakes of comet dust, most no bigger than grains of sand, strike Earth’s atmosphere traveling 49 km/s (110,000 mph) and disintegrate as streaks of light. This year the shower peaks early morning on April 22, 2013. Forecasters expect 10 to 20 meteors per hour, although outbursts as high as 100 meteors per hour are possible.
The annual meteor shower should give skywatchers in darkened parts of the world a solid show late on April 21, 2013 and early on April 22, 2013. The glare from a nearly full moon might possibly obstruct the view for many stargazers.
