Lyrids Meteor Shower 2022: Shooting stars to peak above UK this week

It’s that time of year again where you can swap your Netflix screens for a show in the sky — the Lyrids meteor shower is here.

You can watch the shooting stars, known as Lyrids, make their annual appearance in the April sky tonight through Saturday 30 April.

The meteor shower is expected to peak on Thursday and Friday, with the best times to see the meteor shower between midnight and dawn.

Sky watchers are in for a treat since there haven’t been any shooting star displays since the beginning of this year.

The duration of the shower is 15 April to 29 April but the peak when you can spot the most shooting stars will be this week.

The Lyrids are the first major meteor shower of the year. Providing the weather stays clear, astronomy fans will have a good chance of seeing a meteor.

The meteors themselves come from a cloud of debris caused by the comet C/186 Thatcher. Every year the Earth passes through this cloud of debris and we call it the Lyrids because the shooting stars appear to originate from the constellation Lyra.

‘Known for their fast, bright meteors, the Lyrids are one of the oldest known meteor showers. They originate from comet Thatcher, which was discovered in 1861,’ explains the UK Met Office.

‘The Lyrid meteor shower is named as such because it appears to radiate from the constellation Lyra, though it is better to view the Lyrids away from this constellation so they appear longer and more impressive.’

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