Earth Day Gets a Celestial Welcome

Annual Lyrid meteor shower, one of oldest known on Earth, will peak overnight
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 21, 2020 7:47 AM CDT
One of the Oldest Meteor Showers Peaks Overnight
The milky way and traces of meteors illuminate the sky over the island of Fehmarn, northern Germany, during the Lyrid meteor shower in 2018.   (Daniel Reinhardt/dpa via AP)

One of Earth's oldest known meteor showers will usher in Earth Day 2020. The annual Lyrid meteor shower, first recorded some 2,700 years ago in China, will peak around 10pm local time Tuesday until about 5am Wednesday, which is Earth Day. Up to 20 meteors will be visible per hour as fragments of the comet known as Thatcher (C/1861 G1) slam into our atmosphere, per Live Science. Meteors may also be seen 2.5 days before and after peak viewing time. This April, a new moon will prevent interference from moonlight, per Space.com. But it's still best to get far from light pollution and let your eyes adjust to the darkness. NASA suggests you "lie flat on your back with your feet facing east and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible." (More meteor shower stories.)

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