Lyrid Meteor … sprinkle by Ken Scott Photography

Longtime skywatchers know that April’s Lyrid meteor shower is the kickoff to meteor season. Earthsky shares the best time to see the Lyrids:

Late evening April 21 until dawn April 22 is the shower’s likely peak. The predicted** peak is 9:23 UTC on April 22. The peak of the Lyrids is narrow (no weeks-long stretches of meteor-watching, as with some showers). And, in 2024, the full moon will fall at 23:49 UTC on April 23. So your Lyrid meteor watching will be in moonlight this year. Tip: Go to a country location where the skies are as dark and clear as possible. Observe under a wide-open sky. But try to place yourself in a moon shadow. If you can block out the sight of the moon, yet still have some sky left for seeing meteors, you might see some of the brightest Lyrids blaze past in the bright moonlight. Remember, even one bright meteor can make your night!

I’ve shared this photo that Ken shot back in April of 2016 before, and I’ll probably share it again! He shared that he shot over a 3 hour period in hopes to catch the meteor ‘shower’ and only caught this one streaker. See more in his Skies Above album on Flickr and for sure visit Ken Scott Photography to view & purchase his work!

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