Ridgeland, SC Weather

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Broken clouds
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When is the next "good" meteor shower?

That is a question that I was asked over the weekend.

The next "major" shower, as they are considered, will be the Lyrids. The Lyrid meteor shower is not one of the strongest of the annual meteor showers, but it can be enjoyable to those meteor observers thirsting for something, after over three and a half months of weak meteor activity. 

The Lyrids generally begin on April 16 and end on April 26, with maximum generally occurring during the night of April 21/22. At maximum, hourly rates can reach about 10 meteors per hour.
The Lyrids are particularly interesting for two reason. First, observations have been identified back to at least 2600 years, which is longer than any other meteor shower. Second, the meteor shower
occasionally experiences an outburst of about 100 meteors per hour, and the reason is basically unknown.

There are other, weaker meteor showers going on around the same time as the Lyrids. The Lyrids move rather fast. When you see a meteor, mentally trace it backwards. If you end up at the constellation Lyra then you have probably seen a Lyrid meteor! If you are not sure where Lyra is in the sky, the following chart will help you find it.

 

This represents the view from mid-northern latitudes at about midnight
local time around April 22. Because of Earth's rotation, this view will
roughly be the same for every mid-northern latitude location in the
world. The graphic does not represent the view at the time of maximum,
but is simply meant to help prospective observers find the radiant
location. The red line across the bottom of the image represents the
horizon. (Image produced by the Author using SkyChart III and Adobe
Photoshop.)