Shooting stars light up North East skies
Make a wish – here’s how to spot the meteors
SKY-AT-NIGHT fans should be able to watch the annual Lyrid meteor shower light up the North East skies this week.
Up to 20 meteors an hour will be visible at the peak of the shower, which takes place in April each year.
While not as spectacular as the Geminids or the Perseids showers, which take place later in the year, if you have the patience you should be able to spot a shooting star or two in the night sky.
Here is a guide on how to watch the Lyrid meteor shower this month.
What is the Lyrid meteor shower? The Lyrids occur as the Earth passes through the dust left over from comet C/186 G1 Thatcher, which makes a full orbit of the sun once every 415 years.
The debris left in the trail burns up as it enters the atmosphere which creates the trail which can be seen streaking across the night sky.
Around a quarter of these will have ionized gas trails meaning they will glow for a few seconds after the meteor has passed.
When and how can I see it? The Lyrid meteor shower usually peaks towards the last week of April, although some can be visible from the mid-part of the month.
This year you should be able to see them from now until April 25. The shower peaked, with around 20 meteors an hour, on Saturday 22 April just before dawn. A meteor shower taking place over Scotland. Below, a meteor shoots across the sky.
To see the Lyrids you do not need a telescope, binoculars or any other equipment – just wrap up warm, head outside and find a spot of night sky away from bright city lights.
The meteor shower will radiate from the direction of the star Vega, the brightest light in the constellation Lyra the Harp.
Meteors often appear randomly anywhere in the sky, so it may require a degree of patience until you see your first.
How do I photograph the meteors? It’s not going to be easy snapping the meteors as they trail across the sky as they are moving so quickly.
You should try and get as far away from city lights as possible. Then you want to wait for the moon to set – that’s when the night is at its darkest.
Then you’ll need a good DSLR camera with a wide-angled lens, spare batteries, a tripod and a cable release cord to take the picture without having to touch the body of the camera.
The wider the angle of the lens, the more of the sky you can take in, which increases your chance of snapping the showers.
You’ll then need to use a long exposure in order to capture a dark background and some bright stars and, hopefully, shooting stars.
At the peak you should be able to capture something with a bit of trial and error. If I don’t have a DSLR camera can I use my smartphone? Yes, you can. You will still need a tripod to keep the camera steady and a cable release cord – there are apps that let you use your headphones’ cable volume button to activate the shutter.
You’ll also need a long-exposure app such as LongExpo or Time Exposure.
Can a meteor hit me? No. The meteors and shooting stars you see are tiny particles or grains of rock and dust. They burn up as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at speeds of up to 130,000mph.
What will the weather be like? Of course, whether or not you’ll be able to see a meteor depends entirely on the weather and cloud.
So far the forecast for the next two weeks shows a mix of showers and clear skies, so hopefully there should be a chance to go outside and take a look.