MOSCOW, 21 Apr. The Lyrid meteor shower will reach its peak on the night of April 23, but the largest number of «shooting stars» can be observed two days earlier, the Moscow Planetarium reported earlier.
«From April 14 to April 25, the Lyrid meteor shower is activated, the peak of which will fall on April 22-23, 2023. According to the forecasts of the International Meteor Organization, up to 18 meteors per hour are expected,» the message says.
This shower is of medium strength, usually observed for three nights near the peak, that is, it will be visible on the nights of April 21, 22 and 23. In 2023, the conditions for observing meteors will be favorable, since the Moon has just passed the phase of the new moon (April 20) and will not interfere with the observation of meteors in any way.
The radiant, that is, the point in the sky from which the Lyrids visually fly out, lies on the border of the constellations Lyra and Hercules, but closer to Lyra — hence the name — Lyrids. By midnight, it is located high above the southeastern horizon and rises higher and higher above the southern horizon by morning. Under such conditions, under clear skies, bright Lyrid meteors can be observed all night until dawn, astronomers emphasize.
The planetarium reminded that people have been watching the Lyrids for a very long time. Moreover, this stream, formed by Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, used to be much more active than it is now. The oldest mention of the Lyrids was made in China in the 7th century BC, and a record from the USA dated April 20, 1803 says that up to 700 meteors per hour could be seen over the east coast of the States that day.
In 2023, the Lyrids have caused a bit of a stir on Earth. So, on the evening of April 19, an unknown object flew in the sky over Kiev and burned out, causing a bright flash. The head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Yermak, reported on the work of air defense in Kyiv at that time, but then deleted the post. The head of the Kyiv city military administration suggested that the flash in the sky over Kiev was the result of a NASA space satellite falling to Earth. This version was later refuted.
According to Russian military expert Alexei Leonkov, it was most likely the Lyrid meteor. The scientific director of the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences Boris Shustov did not rule out the expert's version. Later, the Space Agency of Ukraine also stated that the outbreak over Kiev was most likely caused by a meteorite fall.
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