LYRID METEOR SHOWER [1]

Space Weather - 4/17/13

Earth is entering a stream of debris from ancient Comet Thatcher, source of the annual Lyrid Meteor Shower [2]. Usually the shower is mild (10-20 meteors per hour) but unmapped filaments of dust in the comet's tail sometimes trigger outbursts ten times stronger. Forecasters expect the peak to occur on April 21-22. Photographer Jeff Berkes caught this early-arriving Lyrid during a deep exposure of the Milky Way on April 14th:

"On the night I saw this meteor, I had been traveling for days while sleeping out of my car as I continue my dark sky projects," says Berkes. "Watching a meteor fall right through the middle of your frame is the best! In addition to this Lyrid over the swamps of Maryland, I was also able to capture a couple of Lyrids over the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and the Bodie Island Lighthouse. This is a good sign that the Lyrids are coming!"

Link: Spaceweather.com [3]