Lyrid Meteors 2022: Fireballs, Dust Trails Likely Obscured By Clouds

LAKE OSWEGO, OR — If you look outside your window between Wednesday and Friday, chances are you will see rain, clouds and maybe trees against heavy rain. There will be so much rain that some suggest that Friday's Earth Day celebrations might be held underwater and renamed Drowning Day.

As a result, the peak of the out-of-this-world event, the Lyrid meteor shower, will likely be obscured.

The good news is that the Lyrids should last until next Friday, and there might be a chance to catch a glimpse them over the weekend. That's more likely next week.

The best time to see this often-fireball-rich star show in Lake Oswego and the rest of the Portland region is early in the morning. You may see them in the late evenings now through Friday as well — weather permitting.

Chances are right now you're seeing cloudy skies. You live in Oregon and are used to it. The National Weather Service's Portland office forecasted possible outbreaks of sun on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

There's no guarantee that the timing will work, but we can always hope.

The first of the spring meteor showers is an average sky show producing about 15 or 20 shooting stars an hour, but it historically has produced bright Lyrid fireballs that blaze across the sky and leave dust trails that last for several seconds, according to NASA.

The moon will be a problem, with more than 60 percent of it still illuminated via the recent full pink moon, and that may wash out fainter meteors. But because the Lyrids are known to be exceptionally bright, patient skywatchers should be rewarded.

In some years, the Lyrids dance across the sky at a rate of about 100 an hour in what’s called an “outburst,” but NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com he expected about 18 shooting stars an hour this year.

Outbursts are difficult to predict, he said. They occur about every 30 years, but that’s only an average, Cooke said. “People say there is some periodicity there,” he told Space.com, explaining “the data doesn’t support that” because actual numbers between outburst events vary.

The Lyrid meteor shower is produced by dust particles left behind by the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher — a “long period comet” whose orbit around the sun takes 415.5 years, according to NASA. The Lyrid meteor shower has been observed for some 2,700 years and is one of the oldest-known meteor showers.

Related: 2022 Guide To Meteor Showers, Supermoons, Eclipses

To see the Lyrids, head out to a dark sky location after moonset, which occurs at 8:23 p.m. in Lake Oswego and the surrounding area. Be sure to pack a sleeping bag and blanket (and perhaps a reclining lawn chair) and lie flat on your back with your feet facing east, NASA said. Patience pays. Give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness and prepare to stick around until dawn.

As with all meteor showers, unless it’s already dark where you live, it’s best to get out in the country away from city lights to get the best views. In Oregon, one of the best places to go for a dark sky is the Prineville Reservoir State Park about 3.5 hours away.

The next chance to see meteors will be in early May, with the monthlong Eta Aquarids meteor shower, which started Tuesday, runs through May 28 and peaks May 4 and 5. The meteor shower favors the Southern Hemisphere, where it produces about 60 meteors an hour, but it's a decent show in the Northern Hemisphere, too, and viewers in this part of the world can expect to see about half that many. Comet Haley is the parent of this meteor shower, which has been observed since ancient times.

The Eta Aquariid meteors are swift and produce a high percentage of persistent dust trails but few fireballs, according to NASA.