This year’s second major meteor shower – the Lyrids – will radiate through the Summer Triangle*. It peaks in the morning hours of April 22.
Up to 20 meteors an hour may be seen on the night of April 21 into the morning of April 22 in areas with a clear sky and low light pollution.
The Lyrids can occasionally produce as many as 100 meteors an hour, but an outburst like this is not expected this year.
“These meteors usually lack persistent trains but can produce fireballs,“ the American Meteor Society said.
*The Summer Triangle is made of the three bright stars Deneb in Cygnus (the Swan), Altair in Aquila (the Eagle), and Vega in Lyra (the Lyre, or harp). Find Vega and Lyra high in the eastern sky a few hours after midnight this month.
Fireballs are meteors that become extremely bright as they burn up entering the Earth’s atmosphere and can light up the entire sky for a few brief seconds.
The best time to view the Lyrids will be after midnight as the radiant point, or the point where the meteors originate, begins to climb high in the sky.
https://youtu.be/U6hr0ZQ2fZE
Sources:
