The meteor shower in Lyrid in 2012, captured by astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station.
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The meteor season has officially returned, with Lyrid’s annual meteor shower reaching its peak this week. The first three months of most years are relatively dry weather for night sky spectators, as there is usually not much going on between Rain of quadrantid meteorites in early January and Lyrids. Lyrids signals a welcome return of the chance to venture into the evening amid mild temperatures.
Lyrids rise to a peak on the evening of April 21 until the morning of April 22. If you can’t go out that night or the weather doesn’t cooperate where you are, a night before or after the peak is also expected to present a pretty good viewing opportunity.
Lyrids do not produce a lot of meteors, maybe 10 to 15 per hour, but are more likely to include bright and dramatic fireballs than other major showers. Every few decades we get an explosion during Lyrids that increases the rate to about 100 per hour. This is not expected to happen in 2021, but such things are also notoriously difficult to predict.
The source of the Lyrids is the cloud of debris left behind by a comet called C / 1861 G1 Thatcher that was last seen in the 19th century and will not pass through the inner solar system for more than two centuries. However, every year, our planet goes through the cloud of dust that it left behind on previous visits. Small space pebbles and other pieces of dust and debris collide with our atmosphere and burn far above us, producing those passing bright spectacles, so many are willing to stay awake late or wake up early to catch.
This year, with a month that will be more than two-thirds full at the top of the Lyrids, it’s probably best to try to see the show before dawn and after the moon has set at your location.
Photos of the Perseid meteor showers in 2020 shine in a dark year
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But that doesn’t mean that evening viewing will necessarily be fruitless. The hours after dusk can provide a good chance to capture a bright “pasture of land” along the horizon.
Whenever you go out to look for Lyrids, get as far away from light pollution as possible and find a place like an open field or a hilltop with a wide, unobstructed view of the night sky. Go to bed, let your eyes adjust, relax and watch.
It is not necessary to look at a particular part of the sky, but the Lyrids will appear to emanate outward from their constellation of the same name Lyra, traveling away from that part of the sky like spokes on a wheel. So if you can find Lyra and focus on her, it’s great, but not absolutely necessary.
Stay warm, stay safe and enjoy the space show! If amateur astrophotographers happen to catch lyre fireballs, please share them @EricCMack on Twitter.
Follow CNET’s 2021 space calendar to keep up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.