Lyrids in Southern Skies
Explanation:
Earth's annual Lyrid
meteor shower peaked before dawn on April 22nd, as our fair planet
plowed through dust from
the tail of long-period
comet
Thatcher.
Even in the dry and dark
Atacama desert along Chile's Pacific
coast, light from a last quarter Moon made the night sky bright,
washing out fainter meteor streaks.
But brighter Lyrid meteors still put on a show.
Captured in this composited earth-and-sky view recorded during
early morning hours, the meteors stream away from the
shower's
radiant near Vega,
alpha
star of the constellation Lyra.
The radiant effect is due to perspective as the parallel meteor
tracks appear to converge in the distance.
Rich starfields and dust clouds of our own
Milky Way galaxy
stretch across the background.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
