How to See the 2018 Lyrid Meteor Shower
One of the oldest annual showers on record, the Lyrids will put on an good show this year thanks to dark, moonless skies during the peak.
PUBLISHED April 20, 2018
Sky-watchers will get a chance to witness one of the oldest known annual meteor showers this weekend—and conditions promise to be ideal for viewing the shooting stars.
Northern Hemisphere skies will light up as the Lyrid meteor shower peaks late on April 21 and into the very early hours of April 22. This year, the quarter moon will set soon after local midnight, creating dark skies just as the shower kicks into high gear.
While the annual Lyrids are usually quite modest, with peak rates of 15 to 20 meteors an hour, the sky show is considered to be one of the most reliable. This celestial event is also known to deliver bright and impressively fast streaks across the night sky, with surprise bursts of extra activity on rare occasions. Within the last century, the Lyrids produced meteor outbursts with rates clocked at over a hundred shooting stars an hour in 1922 and 1980.
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/04/lyrids-meteor-shower-earth-day-night-sky-space-science/
