VietNamNet Bridge – The Lyrids meteor shower, with about 20 streaks per hour, is the most notable astronomical phenomena in Vietnam this month.

 

Lyra constellation and the center of the Lyrids meteor shower. Graphics: Starry Night Software/Space. 

The maximum moment of the Lyrids meteor shower is forecasted on the night of April 21, early morning on April 22. However, according to Mr. Nguyen Duc Phuong, from the Vietnam Space and Astronomy Association, this phenomenon will take place at the right time of moonlight so it will affect observations.

"If weather conditions are favorable, away from city lights, astronomic lovers can still see this meteor shower," Phuong said.

The Lyra constellations, the center of the meteor shower, rises highly in the east and gradually rises on the celestial sphere at about 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning. Viewers can easily recognize it because there are four bright stars forming an almost complete parallelogram, next to a very bright star named Vega.

A meteor shower is the phenomenon that thousands or even tens of thousands of small asteroids in turn crash into the Earth's atmosphere and burn out when entering to the earth orbits with masses of asteroids. These masses of asteroids are often left by comets when they pass through the Earth's orbit.

Na Son