The first meteor shower of spring arrives

GenevaSpring is here, and with it, more pleasant nights that are conducive to observing the night sky. This April allows us to continue seeing some of the planets that have been parading by over the last few months, although we will find them at different times of the night.

Venus will be visible in the sky as a bright point during the early morning, just before sunrise. It will reach its maximum brightness on the night of the 22nd and will not be as bright again for another year and a half. Mars, meanwhile, will be visible throughout the first part of the night throughout the month. Located in the constellation of Gemini, it will form a triangle with the stars Castor and Pollux, with which it will align on the night of the 10th. Jupiter will still shine brightly during the first half of the night. The gas giant will be visible between the horns of the constellation Taurus. Uranus can be seen with a telescope or binoculars near the magnificent Pleiades star cluster, also in the constellation of Taurus. This planet will set over the horizon during the early evening, and towards the end of the month it will disappear into the brightness of the night. Mercury, the innermost planet in the solar system, will reach its maximum elongation in the last week of the month. This will be a prime time to observe it just above the horizon just before sunrise in the east. As for Saturn, we'll have to wait until May to observe this ringed giant again.

Good conditions for observing the Lyrid meteor shower

Between April 17 and 27, you can enjoy the Lyrid meteor shower. During the peak, which will occur during the night of the 22nd to the 24th, it will be possible to observe between 15 and 20 meteors per hour, although in some years up to 100 shooting stars have been recorded. Although they are not very common, the Lyrids are characterized by being very fast and bright meteors. They can often create large bursts of light produced by fireballs that cross the atmosphere. The radiant point of the meteors, from where they appear to originate, is located between the constellations of Lyra and Hercules, near the star Vega, one of the brightest in the winter and spring sky.

The meteors that can be observed are the result of the incineration in the upper atmosphere of material debris left behind by Comet Thatcher's trail as it orbits the Sun once every 415 years. As the Earth passes through this trail, the comet's particles, which can be as small as a grain of sand, travel at a speed of about 46 kilometers per second. These particles disintegrate in the atmosphere and generate the characteristic brightly colored trails in the night sky.

Although not as popular as the Perseids, also known as the Tears of St. Lawrence and occurring during the summer, the Lyrids are the oldest recorded meteor shower, cataloged for over 2,700 years. This year will be an especially interesting year for observing them, particularly during the early morning hours, as the Moon is moving toward its dimmest phase. For good viewing, as usual, a clear, dark sky is necessary, so it's best to stay away from large cities and metropolitan areas.