There's a meteor shower going on. It’s coming out of the part of the sky where we find the constellation Lyra, the Harp, and for this reason is called the Lyrid meteor shower. This is not a very strong shower, but it does contain some bright fireballs, and the skies should be fairly dark this year, at least until the third quarter moon comes up after midnight. It should be possible to see as many as ten or more "shooting stars" each hour. Get away from bright streetlights. Face east, and then look upwards toward the zenith. You don’t need a telescope to see these momentary bright streaks of light in the sky, in fact a telescope would hinder your view. Take a lounge chair to lean back in, dress warmly, and don't forget to protect against mosquitoes and other hazards. And if it’s cloudy or raining, go back inside, you can’t see meteor showers during rain showers.
Thu Apr 20, 2017 LYRID METEOR SHOWER
