The Planetary Society Blog
By Emily Lakdawalla
Tonight - Lyrids meteor shower and the moon occults venus
Apr. 21, 2009 | 16:24 PDT | 23:24 UTC
by Bruce Betts
Heads up! The Lyrids meteor shower peaks on April 21/22, depending on your time zone, and provides extra meteors for a couple days before and after. The Lyrids is usually an average meteor shower, with 10 to 20 meteors per hour. The good news about this particular shower is that it occurs near the time of the New Moon, so the sky will be dark -- a good thing for seeing the fainter meteors. The best viewing time is in the pre-dawn morning hours, although you may also find increased meteor activity at times during the night.
And, if you live in western North America, in the pre-dawn of April 22, you can witness a rare occultation of Venus by the crescent Moon -- that is, the Moon passes in front of Venus. Venus and the Moon will be very low to the horizon in the East, so you'll need a clear view to the horizon, particularly for the beginning of the occultation, which starts a little after 5:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Exact timing depends on your location.
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