It’s almost time for Lyrids, the meteor shower that comes from the tail of a comet that surrounds the sun once every 415 years.
The comet may be a rare sight, but the Earth goes through debris in its orbit every year in late April. This year, the medium-light meteors that appear when debris seeps through the atmosphere will be visible between April 16 and April 30 in the northern hemisphere.
To watch, look for local time after 10:30 pm, wherever you can find a dark patch of sky with little light pollution. The moon will rise gibbous during Lyrids this year, with a full moon on April 26, which means that light pollution from the moon will be a problem for sky observers. Best viewing, according to NASA, will be after sunset and before sunrise. That could mean waking up earlier is a better bet than staying up late – on April 20 in New York, for example, the half moon will set at 2:48 in the morning, providing a viewing window until sunrise at 6:09
The lilies appear to come from the constellation Lyra, northeast of bright star Vega. Lyra looks like a disintegrated square. However, it is not necessary to look at Lyra, because the angle of approach will make the tails of meteors look shorter. To get the best view of long-tailed meteors, lie on your back with your feet facing east and try to get as wide a view of the sky as possible. Give your eyes 20-30 minutes to adjust to the darkness to see weaker meteors.
Lydids typically produce between 10 and 20 meteors per hour, although they can occasionally erupt at a volume of about 100 hours. Such outbreaks were recorded in the United States in 1803 and 1982, in Greece in 1922 and in Japan in 1945, according to NASA.
Lyrids are fragments of the tail of Comet Thatcher, a comet discovered in 1861. However, Thatcher was spun by solar system for much more than that: The first reported observation of meteor shower was in China in 687 BC, making Lyrids one of the oldest known meteor showers.
If you miss Lyrids, the next chance to see a meteor shower will follow immediately. On May 6, And Aquarids will peak. They are best viewed closer to the equator, but offer views of 10 to 30 shooting stars per hour in northern latitudes, according to American Meteor Society.
Originally published on Live Science.