How to Watch the Lyrid Meteor Shower at Its Dazzling Peak The annual spectacle, which is happening now, will last until around April 25—but the best viewing will fall between the 21 and 22 The Lyrid meteor shower coincided with a nearly full moon at its peak in 2024, seen here at Joshua Tree National Park. This year, conditions will be more favorable. Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images The annual Lyrid meteor shower will soon peak, lighting up the night sky with dazzling shooting stars. Lyrid meteors began appearing this week, and the shower will last until around April 25—but the best time to view it will be from the night of April 21 into the early hours of April 22. That peak period will offer the chance to see around 10 to 20 meteors per hour passing through the sky. Historical records show that sometimes, people have been lucky enough to catch 100 meteors per hour, according to NASA. Here’s what to know about this year’s show and how to get the best view. What causes the Lyrid meteor shower? This celestial spectacle happens around mid- to late April every year. It’s one of the oldest recorded meteor showers in history—Chinese astronomers first spotted the Lyrids in 687 B.C.E. Meteor showers are seen when the Earth passes through the debris field left by a comet or asteroid on its trip around the sun. In this case, the debris source is the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which takes 415.5 years to complete an orbit. As the comet’s leftover fragments of rock and dust crash into our atmosphere at high speeds, they burn up, explains Bill Cooke, head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, to Alana Wise at NPR. The resulting streaks of light are what we see as meteors from the ground. A view of the Lyrid meteor shower from the International Space Station, captured in 2012 NASA / JSC / D. Pettit Tips for watching the Lyrid meteors The ideal time to head outside for the show, according to NASA, is from 10:30 p.m. local time on April 21 until dawn the following morning. And for the dedicated sky watchers who are awake to see it, the shower’s best view should come around 5 a.m. You won’t need any special equipment to catch this celestial event. Just grab a blanket or a chair after dark, sit down and look up. But for the best visibility, try to travel somewhere with less light pollution, away from cities if you can. Last year, the nearly full moon washed out some of the meteors. “This year, the light from the crescent moon will not interfere too much with the viewing,” says Cooke in a statement. “But it is best to look away from the moon, preferably placing it behind you,” after it rises. It’s also best to look at the whole sky, rather than focusing on the shower’s radiant—the point where the meteors appear to come from. For the Lyrids, that’s the Lyra constellation, identifiable by its brightest star, Vega. Keeping a wide view will make the shooting stars “appear longer and more spectacular,” according to NASA. “If you do look directly at the radiant, you will find that the meteors will be short.” Then, give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness—and keep the glow of your phone screen away to preserve your night vision. The meteors can come in little bursts, says Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, to Nicola Davis at the Guardian. “And if you blink at the wrong time, you might miss that one,” he adds. “So, it’s quite a personal experience, because you’ve no time to alert anybody to it.” “You just have to bliss out a little bit, or be a bit Zen and just look at the sky,” Bloomer adds. If you miss the Lyrids, don’t worry—they’re only the first in a series of meteor showers that promise to dazzle sky watchers in the coming months. The next up is the Eta Aquarids, which will peak in early May, offering the chance to catch another light show. And of course, the Lyrids will always come back around next year. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.