The world’s oldest known meteor shower is due to light up skies tonight and will still be visible for several nights to come.
The Lyrids meteor shower, which was first recorded in 687 BC, began on April 16 and will remain visible until April 25.
The celestial display peaked between April 21 and the early hours of April 22 – but stargazers haven’t missed their chance to witness this ancient cosmic spectacle.
Each year, Earth passes through the trail left by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, creating this dazzling astronomical event that has been observed for over 2,700 years.
The meteors take their name from the Lyra constellation, where they appear to originate in the sky, though they have no actual connection to these distant stars.
These space rocks travel at an impressive 30 miles per second, creating bright streaks across the night sky.
At such tremendous speeds, the air particles in front of the meteors can’t move away quickly enough.
This causes rapid compression and heating, with temperatures around the meteors reaching as high as 1,600C.
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This extreme heat is what causes the meteors to shine brightly as they streak across the sky, creating the spectacular light show visible to observers below.
For the best view of the Lyrids, experts recommend finding a dark location away from city lights.
The Royal Greenwich Observatory has advised finding “a dark site with an unobstructed view of the sky”.
No specialist equipment is needed as, luckily for stargazers, the meteors are visible to the naked eye across Britain.
Bill Cooke from NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office said: “In less than 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt, and you will begin to see meteors.”
For optimal viewing, avoid looking at your phone screen, as the light makes it harder for your eyes to adjust to the darkness.
While the Lyrids typically don’t leave the glowing dust trails common to other meteor showers, they do occasionally produce spectacular “fireballs” or bright flashes in the sky.
Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society noted: “With the moonlight this year, any time after midnight will probably produce the same number of meteors.”
The waning crescent moon may reduce visibility from the usual 10 to 15 meteors per hour down to five to 10.
However, the Lyrids have been known to surprise observers in the past – sometimes producing as many as 100 meteors per hour.
