Every year in late April, our Earth passes through the debris of ice and dust left behind by the comet Thatcher in space, creating the Lyrid meteor shower.
It is one of the oldest known meteor showers, having been observed for more than 2700 years. It was first recorded by Chinese astronomers in 687 BC.
Lyrid meteor shower in 2025
Activity period: The Lyrid meteor shower will be active from April 17 to April 26 in 2025.
Peak activity: The Lyrid meteor shower will peak on the night of April 21-22 in 2025.
When to see: The Lyrid meteor shower will be best visible in the pre-dawn hours on April 21-22, 2025, as its radiant (the point from where the shower radiates in the sky) rises in the late evening and reaches its highest point in the sky at dawn.
Moon phase during peak activity: The moon will be in the waning crescent phase and 40% illuminated during peak activity. As the waning crescent moon rises in the pre-dawn hours, the moonlight will slightly interfere with the Lyrids in 2025.
Expected meteors during peak activity: The Lyrids are a medium strength shower, producing around 18 meteors per hour during peak activity under ideal conditions.
Duration of peak activity: Like the Quadrantids in January, the Lyrids have a very sharp peak that lasts only a few hours at best, so some observers will miss the peak activity completely, while others on another continent may witness an excellent display.
According to the American Meteor Society, the predicted peak of the Lyrid meteor shower will fall on April 22, 2025, at 13:00 UTC.
Following the predicted peak, activity rapidly declines to about half the maximum value within six hours.
If the predicted peak is correct, then the observers located in the Americas will witness an excellent display of the Lyrid meteor shower in 2025.
Where to look: The Lyrid meteor shower radiates from near the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra, the Harp. Look high in the eastern sky in the pre-dawn hours to identify bright Vega.
Vega (alpha Lyrae) is very easy to identify, as it is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra and the fifth brightest star in the night sky. It is easily noticeable in the night sky, even from light-polluted areas.
Visibility of the shower: The Lyrid meteor shower will be favorable to observers in the northern hemisphere, especially those located in the mid-northern latitudes (from 25°N to 40°N).
Observers located in the mid-northern latitudes will see an excellent display of the shower, where the radiant reaches almost overhead in the sky (more than 80° altitude) in the pre-dawn hours.
The Lyrid meteor shower will be visible from the southern hemisphere as well, but at a lower rate.
Chances of meteor trains and fireballs: Lyrids don’t tend to leave persistent trains (glowing trains left behind by bright meteors, lasting several seconds) when they streak through Earth’s atmosphere. However, the shower produces occasional fireballs (meteors with bright flashes).
Outburst of the Lyrid meteor shower
Although the Lyrids are a medium-strength shower, they have the potential to outburst or produce an unexpectedly high number of meteors during peak activity.
There have been a number of outbursts. The Lyrids produced about 650 meteors per hour in 1803 (witnessed from Virginia, USA), about 430 meteors per hour in 1922 (Greece), about 110 meteors per hour in 1945 (Japan), and about 250 meteors per hour in 1982 (USA).
Peter Jenniskens, an astronomer at the SETI Institute and NASA Ames Research Center, suggests a 60-year periodic cycle for Lyrid outbursts. That ties in with 1922 and 1982, so if he is right, then the next Lyrid outburst will happen in 2042.
How the Lyrid meteor shower got its name
Meteor showers are usually named after a constellation in which the radiant lies during peak activity or after a bright star closest to the radiant.
The Lyrid meteor shower radiates from the constellation Hercules during peak activity. However, that particular portion of Hercules is devoid of bright stars. As a result, the shower gets its name from its proximity to the bright star alpha Lyrae (Vega) in the constellation Lyra.
Origin of the Lyrid meteor shower
The Lyrid meteor shower originates from the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. It is a long-period comet that orbits the sun once every 415 years. It reached its last perihelion (closest approach to the sun) on January 3, 1861.
Amateur astronomer A.E. Thatcher discovered the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher from New York, USA, on April 5, 1861.
In 1867, Edmond Weiss, the director of the Vienna Observatory, noticed that the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher came within 0.002 AU (300,000 km) of the Earth’s orbit on April 20, close to the peak date of Lyrid activity.
Later that year, Johann Galle found that the comet’s orbit is very similar to the orbit of the meteoroid stream of Lyrids, confirming the association of the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher with the Lyrids.
References
Atlas of Meteor Showers – A Practical Workbook for Meteor Observers
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