Importance Score: 35 / 100 🔵
Skywatchers anticipating celestial events can look forward to the annual Lyrid meteor shower, a recurring spectacle in April, recognized as one of the most ancient meteor displays. This reliable astronomical event offers a chance to witness shooting stars, making it a highlight for enthusiasts tracking meteor showers.
Following a quiet period of over three months, those who observe the nighttime sky for meteors will have an exciting event to anticipate this month. The Lyrid meteor shower, a dependable annual occurrence, is set to return.
Annually, numerous meteor showers grace our skies, but only around ten are deemed major meteor displays. The Quadrantids in early January were the last significant shower. Since then, no other notable meteor showers have been visible.
This gap in celestial fireworks is about to end with the arrival of the Lyrid meteor shower.
Renowned meteor authority Peter Jenniskens characterizes the Lyrids as “the herald of spring for Northern Hemisphere observers,” succeeding a period of minimal meteor activity during February and March.
This year presents favorable conditions for viewing the Lyrid meteor shower. The anticipated peak is Tuesday morning, April 22, with minimal lunar disruption. The moon’s waning crescent phase, at only 36% illumination, will delay its rise until approximately 3:30 a.m. local daylight time.
Uncertainty Surrounds Peak Viewing Time
While the Lyrids are consistently observable, their activity period is brief, typically lasting just a few hours. The International Meteor Organization’s 2025 Meteor Shower Calendar suggests peak activity around 1330 Universal Time (UTC), or 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. This prediction, based on data from 1988 to 2000, favors observers in Hawaii, where pre-dawn skies will be dark, unlike the contiguous U.S. where sunrise will have already occurred.
However, recent Lyrid peak timings have varied. Applying this variability to this year, the peak might occur anywhere between 10:30 UT and 18:00 UT. An earlier peak time would benefit viewers in the Mountain and Pacific time zones of the western U.S., as the maximum display would precede morning twilight.
Optimal Viewing During Predawn Hours
Lyrid meteors originate from the vicinity of Vega, a bright star in the Lyra constellation, also known as the Lyre. Meteors appearing to trace back to Vega are highly likely Lyrids. Though not as prolific as some other major showers—averaging about one meteor every three to five minutes at peak—Lyrids are known for their brightness and swiftness.
Observing can commence around midnight when Vega ascends to about one-third of the way up in the east-northeast. By approximately 4:30 a.m., as dawn approaches, Vega reaches a high point, nearly directly overhead in the eastern sky.
Potential for Unexpectedly Intense Displays
Lyrids are also noted for their occasional, unpredictable surges in activity.
Historical records indicate significant Lyrid meteor events, such as those in 687 B.C. and 15 B.C. in China, described as “stars fell like rain,” and in A.D. 1136 in Korea, where “many stars flew from the northeast.” A notable display on April 20, 1803, in Richmond, Virginia, startled townspeople with a rich Lyrid shower between 1 and 3 a.m., likened to a “shower of skyrockets” falling from every direction.
The extraordinary 1803 Lyrid shower was largely unexpected, given the limited meteor knowledge at the time. However, in 1867, astronomers Edmund Weiss and Johann Gottfried Galle independently linked the Lyrid meteors to debris from Comet Thatcher, which orbits the sun roughly every 415 years and was last observed in 1861.
More recent instances of heightened Lyrid activity include a brief outburst of about 90 meteors per hour in 1922. In Japan, 112 meteors, mostly Lyrids, were counted in 67 minutes on April 22, 1945. Additionally, in 1982, the hourly rate briefly reached 90, with peaks of 180 to 300 for short intervals.
Considering this history, setting an alarm for 3 or 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning for a quick skyward glance might be worthwhile. An unexpected celestial surprise could await.
Typically, the shower maintains over 25% of its peak strength for two days before and after maximum activity. Thus, even if weather conditions are unfavorable on April 22nd, there’s still an opportunity to observe Lyrids in the days surrounding the peak.
Possible Bonus: Fireball Meteors
Beyond the Lyrids, there’s a slim chance of observing a bright fireball, potentially even one that could drop meteorites. This possibility arises from coincidences observed in the 1960s.
In April 1962, on the 23rd, a shadow-casting fireball flew over northern New Jersey. Then, on April 25, 1969, an exploding meteor (bolide) was witnessed over England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, resulting in a nearly 10-pound stony meteorite fall. These events share intriguing similarities.
Orbital calculations performed in both the U.S. and Great Britain revealed that these striking meteors possessed remarkably similar trajectories. Their origin might be within the asteroid belt or from an undiscovered short-period comet. Some astronomers speculate about a faint stream of meteoroids possibly intersecting Earth’s orbit in late April. Encounters with these fragments could produce fireballs and even meteorite landings.
Both the 1962 and 1969 fireballs appeared to originate near the constellation Corvus, the Crow, recognizable by its quadrilateral shape of four moderately bright stars. Corvus is visible in the south-southeast sky around nightfall, reaching its meridian passage shortly after 11 p.m. local daylight time and setting in the west-southwest around 4 a.m.
For those out during the nights of April 23-24 and 24-25, maintain vigilance. With luck, you might witness an exceptionally bright meteor streaking across the night sky from south to north.
Interested in photographing the Lyrids? Explore guides on meteor photography, astrophotography cameras, and lenses.