Take a peek into the heavens on Wednesday night and you may get a glimpse of the Lyrid meteor shower, which this year coincides with the Earth Day. The stunning celestial display could see as many as 100 meteors pass by every hour.
你若在周三晚上看一眼天空,就可能会看到今年和世界地球日一起到来天琴座流星雨。在这星空美景里,每小时能看到100颗流星。
The meteor shower will light up the night’s sky from April 16 to 25, but the best views will occur on the night of April 22-23.
4月16日至25日,天空将被这场流星雨点亮。而最好的观赏时机是22日和23日的夜里。
Astronomers say that normally between 10 and 20 meteors should be visible every hour, thought this could rise to around 100 meteors in the space of 60 minutes.
天文学家表示,通常每小时能看见10至20颗流星,而这次相同时间内能看到100颗左右。
Leaving urban centers to escape light pollution will give stargazers the best views, but there is no need for any expensive telescopes or binoculars, as the show can be seen with ones own eyes.
远离市中心能避免光污染,这样会为观星者带来最好的观测效果。但昂贵的望远镜(包括双筒望远镜)并不需要,因为这次流星雨用肉眼就可以看到。
The annual April Lyrids are only visible as the Earth passes through the tail of the Thatcher Comet towards the end of the month, with the bright streaks of lights being particles from that comet.
每年四月的天琴座流星雨只有该月末地球穿过撒切尔彗星的尾部时才能看到,来自彗星的碎片会化作道道流光。
It is one of the oldest known astronomical events, which has been visible for more than 2,600 years. In 1982, stargazers counted up to 90 meteors passing every hour.
天琴座流星雨是人类最早发现的天文现象之一,早在2600多年前就被观测到。1982年,观星者们发现每小时最多有90颗流星。