Lyrid meteor shower, which will peak at 12 a.m. ET on April 22, may be seen in the night sky this week, according to EarthSky, and is expected to last through the night.
Known as the “meteor drought,” this year’s Lyrid meteor shower will bring an end to this period of time when there are no meteor showers visible in the sky between January and mid-April.
American Meteor Society says that individuals hoping to get a glimpse of the Lyrids should do it from northern hemisphere latitudes about mid-northern. North America is included in this region.
Seekers of the night sky should seek out a location free of city lights and recline in order to see as much as possible of the cosmos. NASA suggests waiting 30 minutes to allow your eyes to acclimate to the darkness before looking for meteors.
NASA says that the Lyrids have been seen for 2,700 years. As many as 100 meteors per hour have been seen at this shower’s peak, which is characteristic of brilliant, rapid meteors.
The American Meteor Society says that since the moon will be in a waning gibbous phase on April 22, which means that more than half of its surface will be illuminated, the brightest meteors will only be seen in the early morning hours of that day.
Is there anything more you’d want to know about this place? For a better view of the meteor shower, wait until the evening of April 22 or the early hours of April 23. According to EarthSky, Lyrids are notorious for their unpredictable surges, so be ready for surprising eruptions.
Keep an eye out for any fireballs or bright dust trails that meteors may leave behind you as well.
This shower is scheduled to run until April 29th.
Next, there will be 10 more meteor showers that peak in 2022. The following is a list of the remaining showers to keep an eye out for this year:
- Eta Aquariids: May 4 to 5
- Southern delta Aquariids: July 29 to 30
- Alpha Capricornids: July 30 to 31
- Perseids: August 11 to 12
- Orionids: October 20 to 21
- Southern Taurids: November 4 to 5
- Northern Taurids: November 11 to 12
- Leonids: November 17 to 18
- Geminids: December 13 to 14
- Ursids: December 21 to 22
Eclipses of the moon and sun
After the Lyrids, the celestial display continues on April 30 when a partial solar eclipse takes place. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, individuals in southern South America, the southeastern Pacific Ocean, and the Antarctic peninsula will be able to observe the event. A partial solar eclipse will be visible in Greenland, Iceland and Europe as well as parts of the Middle East, India, and western China on October 25.
North America will not be able to see any of the partial solar eclipses.
Only a portion of the sun’s rays are blocked during partial solar eclipses, which occur when the moon passes in front of the sun only partially. The sun’s rays may harm your eyes if you don’t use suitable eclipse glasses while viewing solar eclipses.
Total lunar eclipses occur twice in 2022.
Between 9:31 p.m. ET on May 15 and 2:52 a.m. ET on May 16, those in Europe, Africa, South America, and North America (excluding those in the north-west) may see a complete lunar eclipse.
This year’s second complete lunar eclipse will take place on November 8 at 3:01 a.m. Eastern Time and last until 8:58 a.m. Eastern Time, however the moon will be setting for people in eastern North America.
There can only be a lunar eclipse on a full moon if the sun, Earth and moon are all lined up and the moon is in Earth’s shadow. Two shadows are cast on the moon by the Earth during an eclipse. The umbra is the whole, black shadow, whereas the penumbra is just a portion of it.
The full moon will look darker as it enters the Earth’s shadow, but it will not vanish. As the sun shines through Earth’s atmosphere, it casts a reddish glow on the moon, earning this occurrence the moniker “blood moon.”
The moon might seem rusty, brick-colored, or even blood red depending on the local meteorological circumstances.
This variation in hue is due to the fact that blue light is more easily scattered by our atmosphere, therefore red light will be the most prominent colour on the moon when sunlight passes through our atmosphere.
The full moon.
For the year of 2022, there are eight full moons, with two of them being supermoons. According to the Farmers’ Almanac, these are the remaining full moons of the year:.
- May 16: Flower moon
- June 14: Strawberry moon
- July 13: Buck moon
- August 11: Sturgeon moon
- September 10: Harvest moon
- October 9: Hunter’s moon
- November 8: Beaver moon
- December 7: Cold moon