Surges Of Up To 100 Meteors Per Hour Will Light Up The North Dakota Skies During The 2020 Lyrid Meteor This April
You don’t have to go far from home for fantastic stargazing if you live in North Dakota. With so many wide-open spaces, dark country roads, and quiet areas with little to no light pollution, it’s one of the many perks of living on the prairie. In April, you’ll definitely want to go out and find a secluded spot to view the Lyrid meteor shower when it lights up the North Dakota skies. Here’s what you can look forward to:
The North Dakota skies are perfect for stargazing and watching meteor showers. With such a large, open space and clear horizon, plus very low light pollution, it doesn't matter where you are — you're always a short drive or just a step outside from looking at thousands of stars in the sky.
Thanks to these conditions, that means the state is perfect for viewing meteor showers. Lucky for us, the Lyrid meteor shower, or the Lyrids, is coming up next month in April of 2020. It will peak on the night of April 21st.
When viewing the Lyrids, you'll want to find the Lyra constellation — which is what they are named after. This will be towards the northeast, and its the northern hemisphere that'll get the best show.
If you are having trouble finding the Lyra constellation, look for Vega — one of the brightest stars in the sky — that's part of the constellation. From here, look slightly up and to the right, and you could see many meteors streak across the sky during the peak.
The fireballs of the Lyrid meteors are known to occasionally be bright enough to cast shadows and even leave behind a trail that lasts for minutes. It's certainly a spectacular sight!
The moon will not be full on the night of the meteor shower, so viewing should be fairly good. Head out to a quiet, rural area on the night of April 21st, sit back, and enjoy the show.
The American Meteor Society has more information about this upcoming shower and others later this year. Learn more by visiting their website. Need ideas on where to go see this amazing part of nature? Try these secluded natural spots in North Dakota. Note that some of these may not be accessible at night, or may not currently have camping options available, but they are great to put on your list for future adventures.
Leah moved to North Dakota when she was 12 years old and has traveled from the Red River Valley to the badlands and many places in between. She loves small-town life and currently enjoys living on a small farm in the ND prairie. She's always had a passion for writing and has participated in novel writing challenges such as NaNoWriMo multiple times. Her favorite part about this job is recognizing small businesses that deserve a boost and seeing the positive affect her articles can have on their traffic, especially in rural areas that might have otherwise gone overlooked.
