LYRIDS METEOR SHOWER TONIGHT!

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Lyrids meteor shower will be visible late tonight (Thursday, April 22) until the dawn of the next day (Friday, April 23). According to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA), we can expect a shower rate of 10-15 meteors per hour.

Lyrids meteor shower is named after the constellation Lyra because it appears that the meteors were coming from that region of the sky. It was an annual event that takes place sometime between April 16 to 25.

PAGASA: Meteor shower visible April 22–23 - Nation - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News

Perseids Meteor Shower Tonight!

Do you want to hangout tonight? We'll I have a great idea! 

Image by rherring via Flickr

Why not observe the night sky and see the annual Perseids meteor shower?

Persieds is an annual meteor shower that starts by the middle of July and peaks in the middle of August. For this year, 2009, it is expected to peak between August 11 and August 12. According to recent counts, it can showers up to 60 shooting stars per hour or more. It's really a shower of fun to observe this wonderful celestial event.

Image via Wikipedia

Meteor showers occur when the earth passes an orbit of a comet. Comets leaves particles of rocks and ice on their orbit and when the earth passes them, a steady shower of meteor display occurs.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Perseids meteor shower can be observed all over the sky but more concentrated on the Northern part specifically on the contellation of Perseus. The comet named Swift-Tuttle is the one associated with it.

Another well known meteor shower and

 currently the holder of Guiness Book record is the Leonids that occurs on November and is caused by the comet Temple-Tuttle. In 1833, 1866 and 1867, it displays the most expectacular meteor showers of all time when it rained up to 100,000 meteors per hour!

Image via Wikipedia