Don’t Forget to Look Up This Week

Looking for something to do with the kids this week? Maybe something a little educational? Yet something that's still cool and impressive. Fox2Now.com posted a story that the Lyrid meteor shower is this week and Wednesday is the best night to see it.

Amsmeteors.org has some great information on how to view the Lyrid meteor shower but it's a little bit technical and written for astronomy geeks. What I did gather from their article is this. The best night to see the Lyrids is Wednesday April 22. The best time to see the meteors, 4:00-5:00AM CDT, however just looking up around midnight is pretty good too.

I say you keep the kids up late, maybe with a favorite move, or perhaps some kind of science fiction or space type of film. Might it be time to introduce the kids to "Star Wars" or "Star Trek"? Watch the film, have some treats, then about 11:30PM head on out to the backyard. Take a blanket, orient yourself to the part of the sky where the Lyrids are happening. (Once again the amsmeteors.org article has the info on that.) Lay down and watch the sky for a show.

It might be the start of a life long interest in the stars for your kids, or perhaps they'll fall asleep daydreaming about their own space adventure. Either way it sounds like a good night.