BSU Astrophysicists: Meteor Shower Expected at the End of April
A spectacular cosmic phenomenon—the "π-Puppid" meteor shower—will be seen at the end of April.
This was reported by the Department of Astrophysics of the Physics Faculty of Baku State University (BSU).
According to the information, the meteor shower's peak activity will occur between April 22 and 24. This meteor shower is best observed in the Southern Hemisphere, but under favorable conditions, it can also be seen from lower latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.
The "π-Puppid" meteor shower is caused by the Earth's collision with dust particles left behind by comet 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup. This comet orbits the Sun with a period of approximately 5 years and ejects numerous small particles into space with each approach. When the Earth passes through the area of greatest concentration, the meteor shower is observed. The most intriguing feature of this shower is its unpredictability: in some years, meteors are virtually invisible, while in others, sudden bursts of activity occur, with dozens of meteors per hour visible in the sky.
These meteors enter the Earth's atmosphere at relatively moderate speeds. Their geocentric velocity is approximately 18 km/second. This is significantly lower than that of fast meteor showers like the Lyrids, so π-Puppid meteors often leave slower and more extended trails across the night sky.