Science

Judi Lynn

(163,317 posts) Sun Apr 20, 2025, 07:13 AM Sunday

Lyrid Meteor Shower 'Fireballs' To Peak Monday -- Exactly When To Watch

Jamie Carter
Senior Contributor

Topline The Lyrid meteor shower, one of the oldest known displays of shooting stars, is already underway and will peak overnight on Monday-Tuesday, April 21-22, with about 18 meteors per hour expected—including some super-bright fireballs.

A meteor shower above the NSF McMath Pierce Solar Telescope at U.S. National Science Foundation Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab.
KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/R. Sparks

Key Facts

The Lyrid meteor shower runs from April 17-26 but will peak on the night of Monday, April 21, through Tuesday, April 22. According to the American Meteor Society, the peak is around 13:00 UTC on April 22 (08:00 a.m. EDT on April 22).

The early hours after midnight — when any location on Earth is the darkest — is the best time to look up.

Though its “shooting stars” will appear to have come from the constellation Lyra in the eastern sky, they can appear anywhere in the sky. Lyra, centered on the bright star Vega, is rising in the northeastern night sky a few hours after dark this month. The later you look, the higher Lyra will be, and the more chance you’ll have of a better display.

“View them after about 10:30 p.m. local time until dawn, with the best viewing around 5 a.m.,” reads a blog post published by NASA. “The waning crescent moon will rise around 3:30 a.m. [local time], but at only 27% full, it shouldn't interfere too much with your meteor watching.” The Lyrids are best seen from the Northern Hemisphere but can also be seen from south of the equator.

The number of meteors is hard to predict, and it can vary. “About 10 years ago, the Lyrids had an unexpected outburst,” said Dr. Nick Moskovitz, expert astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, in an interview. “Nobody saw it coming, and we saw over 100 meteors per hour.”

More:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2025/04/20/lyrid-meteor-shower-fireballs-to-peak-monday---exactly-when-to-watch/