Everything You Need To Know About The Lyrids Meteor Shower

I know there’s been a lot of space talk this past week (and it really hasn’t been that great), but don’t let that dull you to the magic of our galaxy and the sky. If you need a little hit of “holy sh*t, we live on a planet with stars,” turn to the skies this week — specifically April 21 and April 22 here in the U.S. — to catch a glimpse of the April Lyrids Meteor Shower.

If that sounds familiar to you, it’s because this meteor shower comes like clockwork every April. That doesn’t make it any less incredible to observe, though! This meteor shower is formed from leftover particles from comet Thatcher, USA Today reports, and it’s the oldest known meteor shower. We get to see it as our planet rotates through the debris trail, giving us the chance to watch these whizzing lights fly right over us.

The full range of dates for the Lyrids Meteor Shower is April 16 through April 25, but according to Space.com, the best date to see the meteor shower in the sky is April 22, between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. local time, just before dawn. You could set an alarm, but you know, there’s something pretty romantic about staying up all night to catch a space show.

Now, how well you can spot the meteor shower all depends on the weather conditions and where you are when you’re looking. Ideally, you want to get in a more rural area, away from city lights, and hopefully find a large expanse of sky.

But even if you’re in your own backyard, it’s worth heading outside to take a look. USA Today reported that this meteor shower is said to emerge from the Lyra constellation, specifically one bright star named Vega, which you can spot above the horizon and to the northeast around 9 to 10 p.m. EST. As Vega moves up in the sky, it becomes high enough to see the meteors streaking from that direction.

And y’all... the Lyrids Meteor Shower brings a lot of meteors. Like between 10 and 20 per hour. However, according to NASA, Lyrids watchers throughout history have seen as many as 100 meteors per hour. Specifically, sightings of that sort of abundance occurred in 1803, 1922, 1945, and 1982. Sounds like we may just be due for a big year!

So, if you want to witness a spectacle in the sky, it might be worth setting an alarm. Maybe put the coffee on, too.