Overview
- The annual Lyrids are at peak activity, with clear, dark skies offering as many as about 20 meteors per hour.
- These streaks come from tiny dust grains shed by the ancient comet Thatcher that Earth crosses each April.
- Hitting the air at roughly 50 kilometers per second, the particles heat surrounding gas and draw brief bright lines.
- Viewers get the best results after midnight from a dark location, with little glare from the Moon this year.
- The shower has been recorded for over 2,600 years, and rare outbursts have at times lifted counts into the hundreds.