Early birds will see meteor showers and rare ‘occultation’ Wednesday above L.A.

Early risers can expect a double feature in the skies above L.A. Wednesday (April 22) morning.

Around 5 a.m., Earth will pass through the tail of Comet Thatcher, causing the peak of the annual meteor shower known as the Lyrids. Stargazers can expect to see up to 20 meteors, or shooting stars, per hour in dark skies (though in past years it has been more like 90 per hour) as the planet glides through an unusually dense clump of comet debris.

After the Lyrids, an unusual celestial show begins at 5:07 a.m. — something called an “occultation.” This happens when the moon and Venus appear to hover next to each other before the moon fully eclipses Venus.

Tony Cook, astronomical observer for the Griffith Observatory who compiles its Sky Report, said this event would be easy to photograph or videotape in Los Angeles.

“This occultation is only visible from about half the country,” he said. “It will be very memorable.”

Cook recommends using binoculars or a telescope to see the crescent phase of Venus, which is 41 times smaller than the apparent size of the moon. The moon’s bright crescent edge will obscure Venus for 70 seconds, and Venus will remain covered when the sun rises. Then the moon’s dark side will uncover the brightening planet beginning at 5:57 a.m. for 80 seconds.

This is one of Los Angeles’ rare occultations of Venus in a dark or twilight sky. The last time such an event happened was Jan. 13, 1923, and the next opportunity won’t come until Oct. 11, 2029.

Learn more about the occultation and the Lyrid meteor shower at the Science@NASA website.

And here are some recommendations on dark places — far from city lights — that are perfect for stargazing.

- Kelsey Ramos

[Image: Griffith Observatory]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 4:08 pm by Editor and is filed under Sky watching. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.