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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
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Lyrid meteor shower visible over London tonight - here's how to see it
The Lyrid meteor shower will be visible in London night skies tonight (Thursday, April 16). This meteor shower is known for having bright, fast meteors, some with trains, and is associated with the Comet Thatcher. The peak of the shower will be on the night of Tuesday, April 22, but the shower will continue to light up the sky from tonight until next Friday (April 25), according to Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG). Despite the light pollution in London, the shooting stars will still be visible, Greenwich Observatory astronomy expert Jessica Lee assured MyLondon, though you need to make sure you have the right viewing conditions. "It's a bit more faint and there's more of an element of chance because you have to be looking up at just the right time, but you can see meteor showers from cities," Jessica said, "If you can go somewhere darker like a park or a back garden and let your eyes adjust to the darkness you have more of a chance than if you're just looking up on your way home." READ MORE: Exact times that Northern Lights may be visible from London tonight according to Met Office READ MORE: How to spot dazzling green 'SWAN' comet in UK skies this week Meteor showers are often named in order to help stargazers and astronomers to find them in the sky. The Lyrids are named after the constellation Lyra, which is where the radiant (the spot where meteors appear to shoot from) lies. Lyra, also known as the Lyre or Harp, is a small but recognisable constellation that will come above the horizon in the northeast at about 8-9pm. It will then rise up high in the eastern sky and you can easily recognise it due to its brightest star, Vega, which is the fifth brightest star in the entire sky and the second brightest in the Northern Hemisphere. You should make sure your eyes are adapted to the dark in order to make sure you can see them. To do this, stay in a dark polace for about 10-15 minutes, without looking at any light source like your phone and by the end of it you'll be able to see stars you weren't able to see before. The best time to see them is early in the morning on the peak day next Tuesday, when the constellation Lyra has risen in the East to its highest point. because it is high in the sky fewer meteors would be hidden by the horizon but you can't stay up too late or the sun will come up and block out the meteors with light pollution. On the night of April 22-23 the Moon will be below the horizon until around 3am GMT, so won't cause light pollution, making conditions ideal to observe the peak, RMG said. A good place to head to might be Primrose Hill in West London, or One Tree Hill Park in South East London for great elevated views across the city and night sky. There is also Shooters Hill in East London and of course Greenwich Observatory. Blythe Hill Fields in Lewisham is another top spot for stargazing, according to GoStargazing and DarkSkyLondon. The viewpoint is high up enough to avoid a lot of the worst of London's light pollution and offers the added bonus of a good view south of the city - away from the lit-up centre towards Kent and Surrey. Meteor showers happen when the Earth crashes into debris trails left behind by comets orbiting the sun. Every year, the Earth crashes through these debris fields at roughly the same time because our orbits have synched up, meaning they appear in the same place in the sky. These meteors travel at 50 kilometres a second and come from the long period Comet Thatcher. This is the oldest recorded meteor shower still visible today, and was first recorded in 687 BCE. When we crash into the meteors, RMG explains, they fall so fast that the air in front of them can't get out of the way fast enough, instead getting rapidly squashed and heating up. This causes the surface of the meteor to reach temperatures as high 1600°C, glowing brightly, which is visible as a short-lived streak of light in the sky. RMG explained why we see meteors cross the sky at different angles. Their website said: "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." Weather conditions for viewing the meteors is very important as clouds can easily block out the view of the beautiful celestial event. Thankfully, the Met Office predicts tonight will be clear of clouds. Thursday, April 17, also brings a clear night for the most part between 8pm and 1am when clouds do start to gather. Friday, April 18, is not looking good for stargazers as heavy clouds and showers are meant to cover the night. This cloudy and often rainy weather is meant to continue right until Wednesday, April 23, even on Tuesday April 22, the peak of the shower. Their forecast does not stretch further than this. Get the top stories from across London directly to your inbox. Sign up for MyLondon's Daily Newsletter HERE to get the biggest stories every day
