The Lyrids meteor shower, which peaks on April 22 this year and can be seen through April 25, is one of the oldest known meteor showers.
The Lyrids have been observed on Earth for almost 3,000 years!
The first recorded sighting of a Lyrid meteor shower goes back to 687 BC by the Chinese.
The Lyrids are known for their fast and bright meteors.
Though not as fast or as plentiful as the famous Perseids in August, Lyrids can delight watchers with around 10-20 meteors per hour during their peak.
Lyrids don’t tend to leave long, glowing dust trains behind them as they streak through the Earth's atmosphere, but they can produce the occasional bright flash called a fireball.
According to NASA, the Lyrids are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere during the dark hours (after moonset and before dawn).
Be sure to find an area well away from city lights or street lights. Lie flat on your back with your feet facing east and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible.
After about 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors.
Meteors come from the leftover pieces of comets and asteroids.
When comets come around the sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them of small bits and pieces.
Every year Earth passes through these “debris trails”, which allows the bits and pieces of the comet to collide with our atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.
