When and where can you see the Lyrid meteor shower in the UK?

Yahoo

16-04-2025

Stargazers in the UK can look forward to a dazzling spectacle this month with the arrival of the Lyrid meteor shower.
Lyrid is one of the oldest recorded meteor showers and is visible every year from around mid to late April. Anyone attempting to see the display should hopefully catch glimpses of streaks of light in the sky that appear briefly.
This year, the shower will be active from 16 April to 25 April - with its peak on Tuesday 22 April.
The meteors will appear to radiate from a point within the constellation Lyra - where they originate from - but will be visible across the whole sky.
A meteor shower is a celestial event where numerous meteors show up as bright streaks of light in the night sky.
These displays occur when Earth passes through a trail of debris left behind by a comet or, less commonly, an asteroid.
The debris, often no larger than grains of sand or small pebbles, enters Earth's atmosphere at high speeds, burning up due to friction and creating the glowing trails we call meteors, or "shooting stars".
Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which they appear to originate and happen predictably each year as Earth crosses the same debris paths.
The peak of this year's Lyrid meteor shower is the 22nd April, according to Jake Foster, the public astronomy officer at Royal Museums Greenwich.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The best way to see it is after 10pm - around midnight is even better because the radiant point Lyra will be higher in the sky".
Foster added that the Lyrid meteor shower is "known as one of the bright ones", and no specialist equipment will be needed.
He explained: "The best thing to do is get away from the bright city lights and get a wide view of the sky. Lay down on a blanket, no equipment needed, no telescope needed, just a lot of patience."
Sam Tonkin, from the Royal Astronomical Society, told Yahoo News UK that no particular part of the UK will be better than others in terms of catching a glimpse of the display.
He said: "It will be visible across the UK. The only thing that will impact it is if you have a clear sky/cloud cover and if you are away from light pollution or not."
Jessica Lee, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told Yahoo News UK that areas of the UK with darker skies, away from light polluted areas, will be the best places to see the display.
She added: "No meteors will be visible if you have completely cloudy skies, so areas with better weather forecasts might also fare better…
"The best thing to do is go to an area with lots of sky visible - like an open field, or the top of a hill."
Dr Robert Massey, the deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, said that the best equipment "is just your eyes", with the east being the point in the sky where the meteors appear to come from.
He added: "With this particular shower you could expect to see maybe 10 to 15 an hour at the peak, so it's not massively prolific… but if you've got a clear sky it's still very much worth it."
The Lyrid meteor shower originates from the trail of Comet Thatcher, that was discovered in 1861.
The meteor shower we see every year is the result of little pieces of debris left in Thatcher's wake.
The comet last passed our solar system in the year it was discovered, leaving behind a large field of tiny pebbles that are usually no bigger than a grain of sand - which fall into the atmosphere and give us the annual display as the Earth orbits the sun.
Thatcher orbits the sun once every 415 years and the Lyrid are named after the constellation Lyra, where their radiant point - the spot that they appear to come from - is located.
The Lyrids have been observed and reported since 687 BC, and were first recorded by the Chinese. No other modern shower being recorded as far back in time.
Comet Thatcher won't return to our skies until 2276 but its remnants will continue to dazzle stargazers on a yearly basis.