Nocturnal people and everyone who has a few wishes should spend the coming nights on the balcony or terrace: because shooting stars enchant our nights in April.
The meteor shower that occurs every spring Lyrids moves across the sky again.
Lyrid Maximum: When is the best time to see the shooting stars?
Mostly starry skies allow a clear view of the shooting stars of the Lyrids in the coming nights. “You could see a shooting star every two minutes,” explained Ulrich Köhler of German Aerospace Center (DLR). On the night of Tuesday (April 21st), but especially on the night of Wednesday (April 22nd), shooting star lovers could get their money’s worth.
A mostly cloud-free sky over Germany predicted a meteorologist of the “German Weather Service (DWD) “ for the coming nights. Only in the south and southwest is there some cloud cover, the shooting stars could still be observed, the spokesman said.
Lyrids: The shooting stars fly so fast
The lyrids are particularly fast shooting stars. The meteors fly over the night sky at a speed of around 50 kilometers per second. That is 180,000 kilometers per hour. Converted to the distance from the moon to earth, a journey at speed would only take two hours. When the meteors penetrate the earth’s atmosphere they burn up and make the air shine, which can be seen from Earth as a fast streak of light in the sky.
Weak moonlight increases the chance of falling stars
Hobby astronomers and night owls are particularly lucky this year. The approaching new moon two days later and therefore weaker light allow a good view of the light strips. The earth traverses the tail of a comet at this time. This was discovered in the solar system in 1861. “Every year on the 21st, 22nd, 23rd, the earth crosses the rest of this comet’s tail,” says Köhler. This would cause dust particles to enter the earth’s atmosphere. As a result of the impact, the particles burned up and shooting stars were visible.
The astronomer recommends observing elevated points in a park or outside the city, since less stray light from city lights there makes it difficult to see the shooting stars. A dark observation point and a view of the northern starry sky are the best conditions.
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