The coming weekend promises to be truly starry
The night from Saturday (21 April) to Sunday (22 April) will witness grandiose phenomenon called Lyrid meteor shower. The peak period of the traditional spring starfall this year will coincide with the celebration of the Earth Day.
Turkmenistan will be also able to admire this spectacular astronomical performance. The maps provided by Accuweather say the Lyrid meteor shower will be fairly visible after midnight and before sunrise in most of the country’s territory.
The exception is Balkan province, where the visibility will be poor. Lebap and Mary provinces will be lucky, because for these regions meteorologists forecast a good visibility of star fireworks, the intensity of which will be up to 20 meteors per hour.
Everyone can observe the shower with the naked eye, even without binoculars. It is enough only to settle down far from light pollution sources. The ideal option is some suitable location countryside.
After choosing the right place, the eyes should be given time - about 30-40 minutes - to completely adapt to the darkness, it is not recommended to use flashlights or to loot at smartphones display.
Then, just look at the selected section of the night sky and ... with patience, reflecting on devout wishes and desires in relaxed mood, wait for the appearance of the first flashes of falling stars.
According to astronomers, the fourth part of the Lyrids leave ionized gas trail, glowing for a few seconds.
Lyrid meteor shower is named in honor of the constellation Lyra, from which, allegedly, the meteors originate. However, in fact, it is a trail of fragments of the Comet Thatcher, which’s orbital path is crossed by the Earth once a year, usually in the spring. The comet revolves around the Sun at a speed of one rotation in 415 years.
During this crossing, the comet rock chunks, invading the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere at a speed over 170 000 km/h, immediately burned, leaving in the sky a bright white streaks.
The observation of Lyrids in ancient China dates back 687 BC. The first written mention of meteor shower is contained in Zuo Zhuan manuscripts.
One of the most powerful Lyrid showers with capacity of 1800 meteors per hour was registered in 1921.
