The Lyrid meteor shower is expected to light up the dawn skies in parts of the country this weekend, with up to 18 stars expected per hour.
According to the Royal Observatory Greenwich, there will be fast, bright meteors – some with trains or trails of vaporized rock.
Here’s everything you need to know to increase your chance of being seen.
What is the best time to see it?
The show will peak in the early hours of Sunday, April 23 and remain visible until dawn.
It will be active from April 14 to 30, but from Saturday night to Sunday morning will be the best chance to get a good view of it.
Don Polacco, professor of physics at the University of Warwick, said: “The best time to see these objects is after midnight on a moonless night, with as little light pollution as possible.
“You’ll need a comfortable place to sit because this shower only produces about 20 meteors an hour – if you’re lucky!”
Where is the best place to watch it?
The most important thing is to find a dark place with an unobstructed view of the sky.
Fortunately, the summit comes just after the new moon, so light pollution from the moon won’t spoil the view.
The Royal Observatory Greenwich recommends warming up and grabbing a blanket to lie on — or a deck chair, if you want a relaxing experience.
Will the weather be good for stargazing?
Unfortunately, most parts of the UK are not set for ideal stargazing weather.
It looks like the north of Scotland could get the best of the weather, with the forecast it will be fine and mostly sunny on Saturday, but low clouds and fog will continue to plague the north east coasts.
in another place, Most places are at risk of showers Or longer spells of rain and you’ll feel cold.
The forecast for Saturday indicates that most of the country may be exposed to rain and clouds
What is a meteor shower and where do meteors come from?
Meteor showers, or shooting stars, occur when pieces of debris, known as meteors, enter Earth’s atmosphere at about 43 miles per second, causing them to burn up and cause streaks of light.
In this case, the debris comes from Comet Thatcher, which is expected to return to the inner solar system in the year 2276, after an orbital period of 415 years.
Professor Polacco said: “When comets orbit the sun, the impact of energy vaporizes material from the comet’s nucleus, which we see as the comet’s tail.
“The gas and dust generated remains in the comet’s orbit, even long after the comet has moved along its orbit.
“If the Earth passes through the comet’s orbit, any material deposited by the comet can turn into meteorites or bright stars in the sky.
“These objects are usually the size of dust particles but when they fall into the Earth’s atmosphere, they travel so fast that they are vaporized.
“Along the path that the dust particle travels, the gas particles are very hot and give off light – this is a meteor.
“We don’t actually see the dust, instead its vaporizing effects on the particles.”
