Latest news with #1861G1Thatcher
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
See it: Fireball lights up Alaskan skies in broad daylight
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A meteor was spotted by multiple cameras as it hurtled through Earth's atmosphere in broad daylight Thursday morning. One video, captured on an Alaska State Trooper's dashcam, quickly tracked the fireball across the sky over the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, just north of Anchorage. State troopers posted this video on social media set to music from The Beatles' 1969 classic song, "Here Comes the Sun." Another video, also captured on dash camera from an Anchorage parking lot, shows the fireball streaking across the sky. This shooting star could have been part of this month's Lyrid meteor shower which peaked this past Monday. See It: Lyrid Meteor Shower Peaks In Dazzling Worldwide Display Every April, the Earth passes through this stream of debris left behind by the dusty trail left behind by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. The tiny particles burn up in our atmosphere, creating the streaks of light we know as meteors. According to NASA, these chunks of debris, falling at high speed, burn up as they travel through our atmosphere and create bright light. About 48.5 tons of meteoritic material falls on Earth each day, almost all of which are vaporized in Earth's atmosphere, according to the space administration. Don't Miss These Celestial Events In 2025Original article source: See it: Fireball lights up Alaskan skies in broad daylight
Metro
22-04-2025
- Science
- Metro
How to see Lyrids meteor shower tonight and best spot to view oldest display
The world's oldest known meteor shower will be visible tonight, with space rocks whizzing past at 30 miles per second. The Royal Greenwich Observatory said this year, the Lyrids will be visible from April 16 to April 25. They peaked last night between April 21 and the early hours of April 22, but you haven't missed it: the meteors will stick around for another couple of nights. Once a year, the Earth passes through the trail left by the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, creating the oldest recorded meteor shower still visible, after it was first spotted in 687 BCE. Its name comes from the Lyra constellation, where they appear to originate from in the sky, even though in reality they have nothing to do with the distant stars. The sky will light up as the meteors whizz past at around 30 miles per second, moving so fast the air particles in front can't get out of the way in time. Instead, they're rapidly compressed and start to heat up, raising the temperature around the meteor to as high as 1,600C° – causing the meteor to shine brightly as it streaks across the sky. Here's everything you need to know. The Lyrids began on April 16 and will be visible until April 25. Last night offerered the best chance of seeing them, but with many areas seeing clear skies at least for periods tonight, it's still well worth looking up. Greenwich Observatory said the best way to see the showers is at a dark site with an unobstructed view of the sky. The Lyrids are visible with the naked eye, so no specialist equipment is needed to watch the spectacle, and they will be visible across the UK. How many are visible will depend on factors such as the amount of light pollution and the level of cloud cover. More Trending The observatory added: 'While the Lyrid meteors will be visible all across the sky, following their path backwards, they will appear to originate from the constellation of Lyra, the lyre, which contains the star Vega. 'In reality, the meteors have nothing to do with this distant group of stars. The direction they appear to come from is dictated by the motion of the Earth and the debris itself. 'All of the meteors are coming in approximately parallel to one another, like lanes of traffic on a straight motorway. Our perspective makes them appear to travel sideways across the sky. 'Just as a person standing on the central reservation of the motorway will have cars pass on either side of them, the meteors will appear to diverge from the so-called radiant point in Lyra and streak across the sky in all directions.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Spotify down for the second time in five days MORE: Wild chimps filmed getting lashed – and some habits are very similar to humans' MORE: Oldest serving US astronaut parachutes back to Earth on his 70th birthday
The Age
22-04-2025
- Science
- The Age
Green fireball explodes in city sky as annual meteor shower hits Australia's east coast
It wasn't a bird, a plane or Superman that made Brisbane's sky come alight overnight. It wasn't air pollution or an alien either. No, the phenomenon behind the green fireball viewed by night owls or those watching the city's 24/7 weather livestream was a meteor travelling about 40 kilometres a second that was probably the size of your fist. While many stargazers believed the light show was part of the Lyrids meteor shower, which comes to the skies each April for about two weeks, experts say this meteor appeared to be from a different celestial event. The coincidence has now turned attention to the Lyrids meteor shower, an event that has been happening in our skies for at least the past 2700 years or so. What is the Lyrids meteor shower? First recorded in 687BC by the Chinese, according to NASA, the Lyrids shower occurs when the Earth passes through the debris trail left by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered by A.E. Thatcher on April 5, 1861. Loading When comets travel around the sun, they leave a dusty trail of particles behind them. These particles, which can also come from broken asteroids, then collide with our atmosphere when the Earth, on its 365-day orbit around the sun, comes into the trail's path. Named after the nearby constellation Lyra, Lyrids are what we see when Thatcher's space debris enters our atmosphere and disintegrates, creating fiery streaks in the sky. Meteor showers occur roughly 30 times a year, but what makes the Lyrids unique – aside from the fact they're one of the oldest recorded meteor showers in the world – is that they don't leave long glowing dust trails.
Sydney Morning Herald
22-04-2025
- Science
- Sydney Morning Herald
Green fireball explodes in city sky as annual meteor shower hits Australia's east coast
It wasn't a bird, a plane or Superman that made Brisbane's sky come alight overnight. It wasn't air pollution or an alien either. No, the phenomenon behind the green fireball viewed by night owls or those watching the city's 24/7 weather livestream was a meteor travelling about 40 kilometres a second that was probably the size of your fist. While many stargazers believed the light show was part of the Lyrids meteor shower, which comes to the skies each April for about two weeks, experts say this meteor appeared to be from a different celestial event. The coincidence has now turned attention to the Lyrids meteor shower, an event that has been happening in our skies for at least the past 2700 years or so. What is the Lyrids meteor shower? First recorded in 687BC by the Chinese, according to NASA, the Lyrids shower occurs when the Earth passes through the debris trail left by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered by A.E. Thatcher on April 5, 1861. Loading When comets travel around the sun, they leave a dusty trail of particles behind them. These particles, which can also come from broken asteroids, then collide with our atmosphere when the Earth, on its 365-day orbit around the sun, comes into the trail's path. Named after the nearby constellation Lyra, Lyrids are what we see when Thatcher's space debris enters our atmosphere and disintegrates, creating fiery streaks in the sky. Meteor showers occur roughly 30 times a year, but what makes the Lyrids unique – aside from the fact they're one of the oldest recorded meteor showers in the world – is that they don't leave long glowing dust trails.
Daily Mail
21-04-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks tonight with up to 15 shooting stars flying overhead every hour - here's the best time to see the celestial display
If you're a fan of stargazing, make sure you have an eye to the skies this evening. The Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks tonight, with up to 15 'shooting stars' soaring overhead every hour. However, it might be wise to stock up on coffee if you want to stay awake for it. The shower will officially peak just before dawn - between about 3-5am. Thankfully, you won't need a telescope to see the Lyrid Meteor Shower, although you'll have a better chance of spotting the meteors if you opt for an area that's free of artificial lights. 'With the Lyrids you'll be looking for a little flurry of short-lived streaks of light – what you might popularly call shooting stars,' explained Dr Robert Massey, deputy executive director at the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). The Lyrids have been observed and reported since 687 BC – and no other modern shower has been recorded as far back in time. 'We think they're the earliest meteor shower ever seen by humans – more than 2,700 years ago, right back in the 7th century BC,' Dr Massey added. A meteor shower happens when Earth passes through the path of a comet – icy, rocky bodies left over from the formation of the solar system. When this happens, the bits of comet debris, most no larger than a grain of sand, create streaks of light in the night sky as they burn up in Earth's atmosphere. These streaks are known as shooting stars, even though they are not stars at all – which is why some astronomers object to this term. The Lyrids specifically are caused by Earth passing through the dusty trail left by Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, a comet that orbits the sun roughly every 415 years. 'As these comet particles burn up in our atmosphere, they produce bright streaks of light, what we see as meteors,' said Dr Shyam Balaji, a physicist at King's College London. 'Lyrid meteors are known for being bright and fast, often leaving glowing trails in the sky that linger for a few seconds.' To view the shower, look to the northeast sky during the late evening and find the star Vega in the Lyra constellation, as this is where they will appear to originate. 'However, you don't need to look directly at Lyra – meteors can appear in all parts of the sky,' added Dr Balaji. With the Lyrids you'll be looking for a little flurry of short-lived streaks of light. Pictured, the Lyrids over Tissington, Derbyshire, April 2021 Because meteors can be quite faint, it is best to look out for them in a dark sky, free of moonlight and artificial lights with a wide an unobstructed view of the sky. 'As with almost every shower, try and find a wide open space, as far from city lights as possible and fill your view with as much of the night sky as possible,' said Dr Greg Brown, public astronomy officer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. 'Lying down on a deckchair is a great way to do this while being comfortable. 'And while the temperatures are still climbing it can still get quite cold in the early hours of the morning when these showers are best seen, so don't forget to wrap up warm.' It's worth bearing in mind that although the peak is tonight, the Lyrids will be visible through until Saturday (April 26). Unfortunately, the weather forecast paints a rather bleak picture for this evening. The Met Office predicts that there will be heavy showers this afternoon with hail and thunder for some - although this should mostly clear by the evening. 'Rain will clear eastwards this evening, then it will be dry overnight with lengthy clear spells. A few fog patches developing, with temperatures falling close to freezing in the countryside,' it explained. Throughout the year, there are usually 12 meteor shower, but only one has already happened and the biggest one is still to come. The Eta Aquariids is visible from about April 19 to about May 28 each year with peak activity in 2025 on May 5. Eta Aquariids are known for their impressive speed, traveling at about 148,000mph (66 km/s) into Earth's atmosphere. Another significant shower is the Delta Aquariids in July (25 meteors per hour) followed by the Perseids in August (150 shooting stars per hour). In December, the Geminids peak around the middle of December and send up to 150 bright shooting stars whizzing through the sky per hour. Aside from its high rate of shooting stars, the Geminids are special because the meteors are multi-coloured – mainly white, some yellow and a few green, red and blue.
