Overview
- The annual Lyrids reach maximum activity Tuesday night into early Wednesday, with most forecasts calling for about 10 to 20 meteors per hour under dark skies.
- Best viewing comes late night through pre-dawn as the radiant near the bright star Vega in Lyra climbs high, so look east, avoid city lights, and give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes to adjust.
- The moon is a thin crescent that sets early, so its light should not wash out the shower and could make fainter streaks easier to spot.
- The meteors are tiny bits of debris from Comet Thatcher that hit the atmosphere at roughly 30 miles per second, vaporizing into brief streaks that can sometimes leave lingering trains or produce an occasional fireball.
- The shower remains active for several days after the peak, though experts do not anticipate a rare outburst this year that can sometimes drive rates near 100 per hour.