Lyrid Meteor Shower Photo

Lyrid Meteor Shower

Apr 15, 2025

Watch late evening until moonrise on the night of April 21-22, 2022. **The predicted peak is 4 UTC on April 22.

In a dark sky with no moon, you might see 10 to 15 Lyrids per hour.
The Lyrids are known for uncommon surges that can sometimes bring rates of up to 100 per hour! Most meteor showers are caused by debris from a passing comet. For the Lyrids, the comet is named Comet Thatcher. Maybe you're wondering:

Have I ever observed Comet Thatcher?

But wonder no more. You haven't. And your children won't see it either. The comet was found in 1861 and takes 417 years to go around the sun once. Its path brings it within the Earth's orbit, then it goes really far away. How far? It goes to a distance of 110 astronomical units (AU). That's 110 times farther from the sun than we are.

Apr 15