The very first meteor shower of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, the Lyrids, will peak over night on April 21-22. This year, the yearly meteor shower will peak in essentially moonless night skies, which need to produce a fantastic program.

According to the American Meteor Societyaround 18 “shooting stars” per hour might be noticeable throughout the height of the shower. With the peak set to happen in daytime in North America and a subsiding moon increasing as a crescent after midnight on April 21, the finest time to look– if skies are clear– will be instantly after it gets dark.

The Lyrids are brought on by sediment left in the inner planetary system by Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1). That name represents the year the comet was found, according to NASAIt was found on its last check out to the inner solar system, in 1861. Comet Thatcher orbits the sun every 422 Earth years, with its next check out due in 2283.

Lyrids can take place anywhere in the night sky, they’re called after the constellation Lyra, since that’s where they appear to come from. Astronomers call this the glowing point of a meteor shower. Lyra, which includes the intense star Vega, can be seen increasing in the east as it gets dark.

Related: The 10 finest stargazing occasions of 2025

Active from April 16-25, the Lyrid meteor shower can produce especially brilliant “shooting stars” called fireballs, that makes it among the very best meteor showers to photo. A simple method to picture a meteor shower on a manual electronic camera is to set it on a tripod and take direct exposures of about 20 to 30 seconds, utilizing a low f-number and an ISO of in between 800 and3200. (ISO 1600 is a great beginning point.) Set it to take shot after shot on its own. Ideally, among them will consist of a shooting “star,” which is in fact the light produced by a meteoroid as it burns up in Earth’s environment.

As the Lyrids subside, another meteor shower will start. That a person will be best seen from the Southern Hemisphere. Active from April 19 to May 28, the Eta Aquarid meteor shower is set to peak on May 4-5. The Eta Aquarids appear to come from the constellation Aquarius, however the source is in fact Halley’s CometThroughout the shower’s peak, about 60 shooting stars can be seen from the Southern Hemisphere, with the Northern Hemisphere usually experiencing about 30 per hour.