If you've missed the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower, don't fret. You can still watch the shootings stars tonight, April 22, 2013 online, in the warmth of your home through the live stream video captured by NASA.
The Lyrid meteors are known to shine in the dark hours before the morning. Yearly, these showers appear between April 16 - 25th with its peak usually on the 21st and 22nd. They have been known to display about 10-20 meteors per hour at its peak time, however there have been records of as many as 100 meteors per hour. As earthsky.org reported, "Ancient Chinese records claim these meteors literally fell like rain in 687 B.C."
People worldwide from different cultures have enjoyed watching mother nature's light show for thousands of years.
As the earth passes through the orbital trail of the Comet Thatcher, small pieces of debri left by the comet hit into the Earth's atmosphere resulting in vaporized grains that appear as meteors to spectators on Earth. Very rarely do the grains go beyond the atmosphere to the surface of the planet.
Below is NASA's live Ustream broadcast of the night sky:
Live video from your Android device on Ustream
Below is a video of the meteors on April 22, 2013.
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