Observing meteor showers
With the Lyrids meteor shower reaching its peak under a new Moon this month, now’s the time to step up your observing with Pete Lawrence’s practical guide
Top tips for better meteor watches in time for the Lyrids shower
Observing meteors is an interesting, albeit – with both the weather and the Moon to contend with – a sometimes frustrating pastime. In their most basic form, meteor watches are pretty easy to carry out, requiring nothing more than a pair of eyes and something to record your
results with. As with all scientific recordings, there are
guidelines to follow. Getting this right will elevate your observations and
help advance our common knowledge of how specific meteor showers
work. Best of all, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to get to this level and the resulting observations may help predict future meteor activity.