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The Lyrid meteor shower is expected to dazzle the night sky beginning this week
Startrails are seen during the Lyrid meteor shower over Michaelskapelle on April 21, 2020, in Niederhollabrunn, Austria. (EDITORS NOTE: Multiple exposures were combined to produce this image.)
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Thomas Kronsteiner
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Getty Images Europe
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The Lyrid meteor shower, one of the oldest annual meteor showers known to humankind, will once again grace Earth's sky beginning this week.
This year, the meteors came into view on Wednesday night and last through April 25.
What exactly are the Lyrids?
The Lyrids, like all meteor showers, are the flying trails of debris left behind by comets, according to Bill Cooke, the lead of NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office. This shower is the litter of Comet Thatcher, first documented in 1861 by A.E. Thatcher.
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"Thatcher left a debris trail that the Earth runs into the third week in April of every year, and that causes the shower when these bits of debris enter our atmosphere and burn up," Cooke told NPR.
Amateur stargazers have come to know those pieces of incinerated detritus as shooting stars, darting meteors and fireballs.
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Earthlings have been observing the Lyrids' sky show for thousands of years, with the first recorded sighting in 687 B.C.
Thatcher is a relatively little-known comet that takes more than 400 years to orbit the sun, Cooke said. The last time it was in Earth's line of sight was right around the start of the Civil War.
The comet itself will not enter Earth's view again until the late 23rd century.
Coincidentally, the Lyrids will coincide with another shower, the Eta Aquariids, which is expected to begin on Friday and last through May 28. That shower is expected to peak on May 5 and 6, according to the American Meteor Society.
How can I watch the meteor shower?
The peak of the Lyrid shower this year is expected around April 21 and 22, when the tail is at its peak.
Luckily, no special equipment is required to observe the shower's brilliant lights. The main requirement is a clear, dark sky.
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"You're not going to see meteors from downtown Manhattan or Central Park," Cooke said. "You need to find the darkest sky you can, you need to lay flat on your back and look away from the moon."
Give yourself 30 to 45 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark, Cooke said — and from there, simply enjoy the show.
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