By Rod Hill on 2012-04-21
A new moon tonight with clear skies will make for perfect viewing of the meteor shower. Experts say 10-20 meteors an hour could be seen. The earth is passing through a stream of debris from ancient Comet Thatcher. Tonight, April 21st will be the peak viewing! The shower can be seen in all directions.
NASA Science News for April 18, 2012
Astronomers and astronauts are joining forces for an unusual astrophotography experiment during the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower on April 21st.
ISS Flight Engineer Don Pettit will be operating the camera on the space station. "Even though his equipment was designed for tasks other than meteor observing, Don is a skilled astrophotographer, and we have every confidence that he will maximize the chances of capturing a Lyrid from 400 km above Earth's surface."
As the Space Station passes over North America multiple times on the night of April 21st, a network of all-sky cameras--some operated by amateur astronomers and others by NASA--will be recording the shower. In Bishop, California, a group of high school and middle school students will launch a helium balloon to the stratosphere. The payload floating some 40 km above Earth’s surface will carry an experimental low-cost meteor camera and recorder developed by the Meteoroid Environment Office.
FULL STORY: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/18apr_lyrids/
Oregon astronaut Don Pettit will take part.
The above is courtesy of Mr. Jim Todd, OMSI Planetarium Manager
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