Lyra meteor shower

Lyra meteor shower arrived as scheduled!

Written in the front: All data as of 22: 00 on April 20th, all in Beijing time.

The activity period of Lyra meteor shower begins in mid-April. At first, its radiation point was in Ursa major, and later it moved to Lyra. Until April 25, its activities basically ended. The biggest forecast of Lyra meteor shower given by the International Meteor Organization this year will appear on April 23rd, Beijing time 1.

The best observation time in China is two periods, from 0: 00 am on April 22 to before dawn, and from 10 on the afternoon of April 22 to before dawn the next day. There will be a waning moon before dawn, but the moonlight is not very bright.

Zhr{ When the limit magnitude is 6.5 and the radiation point is at the zenith, the number of meteors seen by the observer per hour}

According to the latest forecast, the maximum period of No.23 1 is around 20, which is not much. However, in the past observation, Lyra meteor shower happened occasionally 60 times per hour, so it is still worth watching. Besides, the sky has been dull in recent days, and this meteor shower must have attracted many people's attention.

[The intention of the radiant point of Lyra meteor shower]

Ye Jian's Comment on Meteor Shower

The Lyra meteor shower is coming again, but the moon phase is very bad this year. It is expected to set at 13 on 22nd (latest forecast is 23rd 1). I think I should remind you again, don't be superstitious about great expectations. At present, only a few meteor swarms that have been deeply studied can be accurately predicted by human beings. The prediction of other meteor groups is still based on the old method (minimum distance hypothesis), so it is quite unreliable. To tell the truth, the Lyra meteor shower on the 22nd is of little ornamental value, and the observation of this meteor shower is obviously more significant to scientific research than appreciation. The Lyra meteor shower has been undergoing great changes, whether it is full width at half maximum, peak flow or maximum moment, so it can be said that this meteor shower is unpredictable. The only certainty is that if the flow is large, the peak value must be very short-(nonsense) this is also one of the main characteristics of Lyra meteor shower.

Summary of LYR data of Lyra meteor shower

Activity time: April 16-22

Maximum time: April 2 1/22.

Maximum flow (ZHR): 18, sometimes 90.

R value: 2.9 (maximum)

Average speed (without gravity influence): 49 km/s.

Maximum center: right ascension 27 1 declination +33 degrees.

20 degrees north latitude (Nanning, Guangzhou, Haikou): visible after midnight.

30 degrees north latitude (Lhasa, Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai): You can see it after midnight.

40 degrees north latitude (Beijing, Hohhot, Dalian): visible after midnight.

50 degrees north latitude (Tacheng, Harbin): You can see it all night, especially after midnight.

The center of the telescope field of view: 262 degrees right ascension, 282 degrees right ascension at declination+16 degrees, and+19 degrees at declination (the yellow latitude is greater than-10 degrees).

Radiation point drift: April 15, right ascension 263 degrees, declination 34 degrees; On April 20th, it was 269 degrees right ascension and 34 degrees east longitude; On April 25th, the right ascension was 274 degrees, and the declination was 34 degrees.

Observation summary: For typical areas in China, Lyra meteor shower can be seen most of the time at night, and the radiation point rises around 2 1. It rises to a height of about 75 degrees around 4 o'clock. The radiation point is located in the southwest of Cygnus Cross and a little west of Vega. Please keep warm when observing the Lyra meteor shower, and it is most suitable to lie on the couch for observation. Don't look directly at the radiation point when observing, because there are not many meteors and they are all dark. Try to look north or south at a height of 45 degrees. When you see that the backward extension line of a meteor can reach the vicinity of Vega, it may be a meteor in Lyra.

Meteor shower question and answer:

(Excerpted from Comet China and Public Information Network.y234.cn)

Q: First of all, which are meteors?

A: (This problem is rarely encountered, but in my opinion, many people who have never seen a meteor and a few people who claim to have seen a meteor don't know which one is. The so-called meteor is a celestial body that suddenly appears in the starry sky, then moves quickly in a straight line, first darkens, then brightens, and finally disappears, sometimes dragging a cigarette. Pay attention to whether it is "fast" or "fast", and the slow one is not a meteor. This is a video of a meteor. The meteor flashed at the beginning, followed by this photo of the meteor. Because the exposure time of the camera (generally 1/25s) is shorter than that of the camera, the meteor shot by the camera is not as bright as that of the camera.

Q: Can the wish made by the meteor come true?

A: (It seems that many people outside the astronomical circle believe in absolute ability? Meteors are natural phenomena and have nothing to do with people's wishes. As for whether it can be realized, I don't know It depends on what you want. Haha, for example, "I don't have to eat in the future" can't be realized. In a word, this is just a beautiful legend.

Q: Is the meteor shower really once in 33 years?

A: Of course not. In recent years, it happens that the Leonid meteor shower is particularly large. Therefore, many media flaunt that "it will take 33 years to miss this time", which is incorrect. Meteor showers occur every day, but the flow is different. Even the Leonid meteor shower is once a year, and it will never take 33 years to miss it, as some media say.

Q: (Asked by some curious friends) What is a meteor and what is a meteor shower? Can you explain it in a popular way?

A: Hehe, the explanations of various media are quite right. I repeat it here. Meteor is a phenomenon that some small dust or debris in interplanetary space is attracted by the earth, and it rubs and glows violently in the atmosphere and is seen by us. Meteors are usually very small, and the meteors we can see are usually only a few millimeters. Meteor shower is the landscape when the earth passes through the orbit of comets or some asteroids and meets the "particle clouds" ejected by these celestial bodies, and a large number of small fragments meet the earth.

Q: Does the meteor shower really fall like rain?

A: Many friends who have never seen the meteor shower and have little contact with it have this impression. In fact, meteor showers are nothing compared with rain. Even what we call "meteor shower" in astronomy refers to the meteor shower with ZHR above 1000. What is the concept of ZHR 1000? That is, a meteor every four seconds on average. I'm afraid this is not the "rain" in real life. So it is rare to fall like rain, and it is often encountered by accident.

Q: Q: What does ZHR mean? What is General ZHR?

A: This is a technical term. First of all, let's talk about HR. The professional explanation of HR is "the limit magnitude is 6.5, and when the radiation point is at the zenith, the number of meteors seen by observers per hour". For non-professionals, this is probably a mystery. Don't worry, step by step. First of all, explain what is "limit magnitude 6.5". Simply put, when there are more than 3000 stars in the sky, it seems difficult to estimate. Generally speaking, more than 200 kilometers away from big cities, the limit magnitude is almost 6.5. Generally speaking, the limit magnitude in a city is only 1-2 (the smaller the equal sign, the fewer stars you see), and the limit magnitude 50 kilometers away from the city is about 3-4. Is this enough explanation? So what is a "radiation point"? This will be explained below. Looking back now, ZHR and ZHR are HR values when the meteor shower is extremely large. If you ask what is the maximum, then remember that the maximum number of meteors is the maximum number of meteors. This simple explanation is enough. The average ZHR is hard to say. The average ZHR of a moderate meteor shower is 20 (think about it and exclaim: "So little!" ), ZHR is 50-60, which is high. P.S. Sometimes, in order to produce an explosion effect, the media often directly refer to "how many meteors are there in ZHR" as "how many meteors are there every hour", which is very unscientific. According to my experience, even in the best case, the number of meteors seen per hour is less than the ZHR value, except in special circumstances.

Q: What does the radiant point mean?

A: Give a brief explanation to those friends who are not very scientific and lazy. The radiation point is that all meteors are emitted from this point. Accurately speaking, all the backward extension lines of meteor trajectories pass through a point, which is the radiation point. For some friends who love to ask what's next, let me explain it in detail. Generally speaking, meteors fly parallel to each other, and because of the perspective phenomenon, we seem to come out from a point. The most obvious example is the straight track, which finally becomes a point. Before P.S. observes the meteor shower, it is best to go to the astronomical website to find out when the radiation point rises, and don't wait for the radiation point to rise before going out. You can look at this picture. Although it is a work of art, it vividly shows the characteristics that meteors are all emitted from radiation points.

Q: When is the meteor shower the best?

A: (I think ... this question is very irregular, but I still have to answer it. When is the best time to see it? It hasn't been decided. Simply put, there are three meteor showers worth watching every Monday, namely the quadrant meteor shower on June 3-4, the Perseid meteor shower on August1-13, and the Gemini meteor shower on February 13- 14. This is the best meteor shower you can see every year. Generally, you can see about 30 flowers per hour in the suburbs (about 30 kilometers away from the city). Of course, it is better in the wild and less in the city (for example, it would be nice to see 10 flowers in the city center one night). Needless to say, heavy rain like Leonid meteor shower 200 1 is rare. Except for the exaggerated effect in the media, since 1966, there has not been a Leonid meteor shower with a flow of more than 200 1 and 1999 that is flat. A friend of P.S. asked, "Why are there no signs of Leonid meteor shower in the above three meteor showers?" Leonid meteor shower is a meteor shower with large-scale activities after the return of the parent comet, so it will take at least 30 years to see the next large-scale activities of Leonid meteor shower. Of course, there are small activities, every year.

Q: Do all the constellations have meteor showers?

As far as I know, yes, it's just different sizes.

Q: I want to take a picture of a shooting star. I wonder what the normal shooting method is.

Answer: Buy a roll of high-sensitivity film (preferably above 400 degrees) and a mechanical shutter camera. Shoot the sky on a tripod. The general exposure time is about 5-20 minutes. For convenience, it is best to buy cable distribution. Don't hold the camera in the air and wait for the meteor before pressing the shutter. This method simply won't work. Of course, unless you meet one brighter than the full moon, that's fine, but the chances are too small. The shooting of P.S. meteors requires that the limit magnitude should be above 5 and at least 75 kilometers away from big cities. If you are in the city, don't waste film. However, if you have a DSLR (Digital SLR), that may be another result. ...

Q: I am in Beijing. I said on the Internet that new york saw a meteor shower. Can you see it in Beijing?

A: Seeing "a meteor storm happened in xx city" on a domestic website seems to give people the impression that it can't be seen outside this city. In fact, the meteor shower is equal to the whole world, and there is no meteor shower in Harbin for no reason. Of course, as far as special meteor showers are concerned (such as the Leonid meteor shower in recent years), the observation conditions in one hemisphere may indeed be better than that in the other, but this is not common. Most meteor showers are fair.

Q: I heard that there will be a meteor storm tomorrow. Is it true?/You don't say.

A: In the major media, the word "meteor storm" can be said to be rampant, giving people the feeling that there are meteor showers like downpours almost every month. In fact, as far as China is concerned, in recent years, even in recent decades, there has only been one real "meteor shower"-the Leonid meteor shower of 20065438+0. Astronomy defines meteor rainstorm as: in an ideal state, the zenith flow is greater than 1 000 per hour, which can be called rainstorm, but most meteor showers are in double digits, and a few can reach 1 000-200. No wonder newspapers sigh all day that "only meteors can't see the rain".

Q: Do you want to watch the meteor shower with a telescope?

A: Meteor Garden is misleading. Meteor showers are seen with the eyes. Visual observation of meteor shower plays an extremely important role in the field of meteor shower.

Q: What's the difference between meteors, meteorites and meteoroids?

A: Meteorites are the smallest members of the solar system. They wandered in the solar system. Meteors enter the atmosphere under the gravity of the earth and rub with the atmosphere to emit light, which is called meteors. If a meteoroid is big enough to fall to the ground, the rest is called a meteorite. The famous meteorite in China is Jilin No.1, which landed in Jilin Province on 1976.

Q: How high do meteors usually appear?

A: Generally, it is 80- 120km. Of course, some big meteors can also shine below this height.

Q: How big is the meteor? How fast?

A: Most visible meteoroids are similar to sand grains and weigh less than 1 g.. The velocity of meteors entering the atmosphere is between 1 1km/s and 72 km/s.

Write at the end:

Meteor shower observation doesn't have to start from the biggest day, it can start from the moment you receive the briefing, and then it is enough to emphasize the meteor shower with the naked eye:)

The latest forecast of IMO international meteor shower organization

The lyrics are expected to peak at around 20 1 0 April 22nd 17 Hut (about 23rd Beijing time1) (zhr ~ 20). Past observations show that the maximum time is variable every year; In 20 10, the peak may appear between 9: 00 and 2 1h on April 22, but it is worthwhile to observe it in the days before and after the peak. The light of this shower between Laila and Hercules rises at night. From about 22: 30 local time, observation can be effectively carried out in the central and northern regions, but in the central part of the southern hemisphere, it can only be long after midnight. On April 22nd, the convex moon on the first winding will set between 1h and 2h, for most northern regions. More information about this shower can be found in the 20 10 shower calendar.