Meteor Shower Known For ‘Fast and Bright’ Bursts Coming to New York State

As spring approaches, we head into an active time of year for astronomical events.

The main celestial story dominating the headlines is the total solar eclipse that will happen Monday, April 8, as parts of New York state are directly in the path of totality. Many other parts of the state, including areas in the Hudson Valley and Capital Region will experience at, or near, 90 percent eclipse coverage.

See Also: Fireball Lights Up the Night Sky Above New York State [VIDEO]

The last total solar eclipse seen in New York was in 1925. The next one won't happen until 2045, says The Democrat & Chronicle.

Meteor Shower Known For "Fast and Bright" Bursts Coming to New York State

The eclipse isn't the only thing happening in the skies during the month of April.

According to Earth Sky, the Lyrids meteor shower will peak from late evening April 21, until dawn April 22. However, the entire duration of the event is from April 15 to April 29.

According to NASA, the Lyrids are one of the oldest known meteor showers and were first observed 2,700 years ago in China. Live Science says that the Lyrids are the debris left from comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher that can be witnessed as the Earth passes through its remnants.

According to Space, Thatcher is a long-period comet that orbits the sun every 415 and a half years.

The Lyrids tend to offer around 10 to 15 meteors per hour, though Earth Sky says that there have been reports of "uncommon surges", that can bring up to 100 meteors an hour.

The American Meteor Society says however that a few of these meteors can suddenly become very bright, briefly igniting into spectacular fireballs, or, by producing "luminous dust trains", in the words of Space.com.

See Also: See Also: Did a Meteor Strike Dutchess County A Few Years Ago?

One big hindrance this year will be a full Moon, that falls right before midnight on April 23. Any viewing of the Lyrids will be impacted by the "bright waxing gibbous moon", say astronomers.