Lyrid Meteors Come, Bright Region Leaves 04.18.2019 -Space Weather News

“Space Weather quiets down this week though we continue to get hit with sporadic pockets of fast solar wind. Activity could increase at high latitudes, with a brief chance for aurora, but expect only unsettled conditions to persist through the remainder of this week. Aurora photographers may have difficulty catching glimpses of the aurora, but luckily that isn’t the only thing in the night sky worth watching.

This week, Earth enters the Lyrids meteor shower, which could give us a decent show through April 25. Skywatchers will need to get out of city lights and mind the bright, full moon on the 20th and 21st to maximize chances of seeing the spectacle. Meanwhile, back on the Sun, bright region 2738 is rotating out of view so solar flux should drop back into the low 70s by early next week.

This means amateur, shortwave radio, and emergency responders will notice the drop off in communications as we fall back to poor radio propagation on Earth’s dayside. However, propagation on 6m due to the Lyrids might actually pick up this week! As for GPS, users should be enjoying decent reception all around the globe easily over the next few days. Learn the details of the Lyrid shower, when solar flux will drop, and what else our Sun has in store this week.”