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Beats the hell out of television

Meteor showers tonight! They peak tomorrow or the next night, depending on where you are, but it’s a new moon tonight and especially dark. Very clear here, too.

Named after constellation Lyra, the Lyrids are one of the oldest recorded meteor showers—according to some historical Chinese texts, the shower was seen over 2,500 years ago. The fireballs in the meteor shower are created by debris from comet Thatcher, which takes about 415 years to orbit around the Sun. The comet is expected to be visible from Earth again in 2276.

I don’t recognize the constellation Lyra by name. Does it have a different name back home, like the Skillet or the ‘Possum or the Banjo?

Comments


Comment from DurnedYankee
Time: April 20, 2020, 8:13 pm

Those old dudes that saw a lyre there in that configuration were high on something your mother didn’t want you smoking or taking.

And you can’t trust those Chinese hysterical texts any more, you know?


Comment from Zoomyn
Time: April 21, 2020, 12:58 am

Got its namesake from a sad tale, first recorded by the astronomer Ptolemy about 150AD…

Anywho, after losing his true love somewhere in the underworld, ‘Orpheus’ spent the rest of his life strumming his lyre while wandering aimlessly through the land.. . ..and his lyre can still be seen way off the horizon up in the Stars today.

The Greeks said it was the first lyre ever produced, and Orpheus’s music so great that even inanimate objects such as trees, streams, and rocks could be charmed.

With that back story even teenagers and small children could be charmed into remembering the location of the 4th brightest star in the sky – Vega.

(Credits to Wikipedia, I needed a dose of mythology)


Comment from gromulin
Time: April 21, 2020, 2:50 am

Ok, who had Kim Jong Un in the apocalypse dead pool? Is Dennis Rodman in charge now?


Comment from Uncle Al
Time: April 21, 2020, 3:00 am

Lyra? Is there a touch of homophony there?
If so, then maybe over here it’s called Pelosia.


Comment from DurnedYankee
Time: April 21, 2020, 12:05 pm

I heard Kim Jong In was going to take over until Kim Jong Out is fully recovered.


Comment from DurnedYankee
Time: April 21, 2020, 2:38 pm

Rumor has it North Korea has contacted the people who created the RBG android who’s pretending to be a Supreme Court Justice that’s a thousand years old and has beaten cancer 400 times.

They’re impressed. But right now China is too busy to make the parts.


Comment from Deborah HH
Time: April 21, 2020, 6:17 pm

The weather here has not been conducive to stargazing. But my neighborhood is thick with street lights, porch lights, and security lights, so I’d never see the meteor shower anyway. I sure do miss seeing the night sky.


Comment from OldFert
Time: April 21, 2020, 11:34 pm

When I was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, we lived on post. One night there was an area-wide power flop. No street lights, no lights from the buildings, just dark.

Mrs Fert and I took the little Ferts outside and they were amazed at the night sky. “My God, it’s full of stars.”


Comment from BJM
Time: April 22, 2020, 3:02 pm

@Deborah Dark skies were one of the motivations in moving to the country. So what happened? The fat prat in the next holding installed a large HPS light next to the pond in the pasture nearest our house to protect a flock of ducks and two geese from the foxes. Well, needless to say the foxes appreciated the lighted dining hall. After the fowl were et he turned it off.

@OldFert…nice quote.

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