The Superior Express -

We don’t expect there is a connection but today (Thursday) is designated a Earth Day and astronomers tell us to expect the meteor shower drought will end with Earth Day shooting stars

Mainly clear to partly cloudy conditions are forecast for an overwhelming majority of the U.S., Mexico and Canada on the night that the Lyrids peak, which will result in great views of the event.

Earth Day is an annual event celebrating the environment around the world, and folks who want to kick off the special day outdoors can do so under the stars as a highly-anticipated meteor shower peaks.

For the first time in nearly four months, skywatchers of all ages had the opportunity to spot some shooting stars as the Lyrid meteor shower took center stage on the night of April 21 into the early hours of April 22, spelling an end to the meteor shower drought.

The last moderate meteor shower was the Quadrantids back in early January, although the wintry weather paired with the shower’s fickle nature may have dissuaded people from scanning the sky for meteors.

This week’s celestial event was expected to boast around 15 to 20 meteors per hour, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS). People all around the globe could watch the show, although more meteors were seen from the Northern Hemisphere.

It was expected a few shooting stars would be seen streaking across the sky early in the night, but like many meteor showers, the best time to watch the event was during the second half of the night as the frequency of meteors slowly increases.

Additionally, the moon was emitting bothersome light pollution until after it set around 3:30 a.m. or 4 a.m. local time, after which the darker sky made it easier to see the dimmer meteors.

A few lucky onlookers may even spot incredibly bright meteors known as fireballs, which are periodically seen around the time that the Lyrids peak.

This year may end up being a good year for the Lyrids due to the overall favorable weather projected across most of North America.

Mainly clear to partly cloudy conditions were forecast for an overwhelming majority of the U.S., Mexico and Canada during the Lyrids peak, which will result in great views of the event.

City dwellers interested in seeing the show had to travel to darker area away from disruptive light pollution but for many of us living in a rural area, we probably could either step out into our yards, or perhaps drive a mile to two to escape the light pollution.

If poor weather prevailed on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning or you didn’t read this story on our web page on Wednesday and so slept through the show, all is not lost.

The Lyrids have a plateaulike peak, so a similar number of meteors can be seen in the three nights centered around Earth Day, the AMS said so we should have another chance tonight, if the sky is clear.

However, the longer people wait to watch the celestial light show, the more disruptive the moon will become as it appears brighter each night leading up to the full moon on April 26.

After the Lyrids have come and gone, skywatchers will not have to wait as long for the next opportunity to see some shooting stars.

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is set to peak in early May, just two weeks after the Lyrids.