Lockdown Britain is set for a twinkling treat as a meteor shower is set to light up the skies this week.
Turn your gaze skyward out your windows or grab a blanket and set up the deckchairs outdoors at your home to take in the spectacular lightshow.
Anywhere from ten to hundreds of meteors an hour are predicted to glitter across the Northern Hemisphere’s night skies this week .
The annual meteor shower is expected to peak on Tuesday night and the best viewing time is just before dawn on Wednesday.
Here’s some tips on taking in the dazzling phenomenon safely during the national coronavirus lockdown.
(
A previous general Lyrid meteor shower lights up the sky (Image: Reuters / CCTV News)
The spectacular light shower is already underway but will be most visible in the United Kingdom and the United States early this week.
Experts say the peak viewing time will be late Tuesday night and into the early hours of Wednesday, with observations are affected by the phases of the moon and local weather conditions.
The Lyrid Meteor Shower occurs every April – putting on a spectacular light-show for stargazers.
Shooting stars appear as dust from the Comet C / 2019 G1 Thatcher and interact with the Earth’s atmosphere.
When this dust enters Earth’s atmosphere, it burns up, producing a trail of light through the sky.
The Lyrid shower as seen in Kutahya. , Turkey in 2014 (Image: Anadolu) It takes its name from the Lyra constellation, from which the meteors appear to radiate.
While it is due to start tonight, the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower will be overnight on April – , NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com .
The Lyrids will be visible beginning at about : 338 pm, but are best viewed in the darkness after midnight and when urban lights have been switched off as homes turn in for bed.
The best time to watch is after midnight and before the light of dawn, the expert said.
Check the weather forecast in your area to determine the prime time overnight to skygaze.
The phenomenon’s peak visibility time of Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning is due to the phase of the moon.
It will be a thin crescent only about two days from the new moon at that time, Mr Cooke said, so the moonlight won’t drown out the light-show.
Visibility will depend on how clear and dark the night sky where you live is, Cooke said.
The Lyrids seen over the ancient city. of Aizanoi in Kutahya, Turkey (Image: Anadolu) The expert said the average Lyrid shower produces to meteors per hour, and this year about (per hour are predicted – although sometimes hundreds of hour can be seen tearing across the skies.
Some years, the Lyrid meteor shower can produce up to 428 meteors per hour in what’s called an “outburst,” but it is hard to predict, Mr Cooke added.
There is an average of years between the outbursts, but the actual number of years between them varies, he said.
The spectacular could not have come at a better time for the UK in lockdown.
As we stay home to protect the NHS and stop spreading the coronavirus , those of us who are not key workers on shifts should be in the perfect spot to catch the light-show.
Normally, eager stargazers are urged to head to the countryside where there is less light pollution to see the meteors in all their glory.
However under lockdown rules, you must not travel to the countryside.
(Image: NASA) Weather and light levels permitting, you should be able to see the meteor shower from your own home without breaking social distancing rules.
So look out the window, or set up chairs in a safe spot outdoors at your home and turn your gaze to the stars.
If you can head outside safely at your home, experts say you should go out as early if possible to give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness.
This will ensure that any meteors will be visible to the naked eye.
And according to the Met Office outlook for Tuesday. to Thursday, keen stargazers may in luck.
The UK forecast is for mostly fine conditions throughout – with plenty of warm sunshine throughout the days.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings