Spring is a great time for many annual celestial occurrences. Sky gazers can treat their eyes with magical experience of shooting stars—the Lyrid Meteor Shower, which is currently active. Lyrid meteor shower originates from the tail of a comet that circles the sun once every 415 years. The comet is a rare sight, but Earth passes through debris from its orbit every year during this time. Lyrid meteor shower 2021 is active from April 16 to April 30 in the northern hemisphere. However, it will be at its peak this week. The real attraction of this meteor shower is not the number of shooting stars, but the ‘fireballs.’ Where can you see them? In this article, we bring you everything you should know about the spring shooting stars.

When is the Lyrid Meteor Shower?

The lyrid meteor shower occurs each year between April 16 and April 30. The peak night of activity is expected to be April 21 and April 22. The Lyrids tend to produce good rates of shooting stars for about three nights. So, April 23 can also be a great option to look into the night sky.

Where and How to See the ‘Fireball?’

The best views of the Lyrid meteor shower are from the northern hemisphere. What’s the best time to see the meteors? From midnight until around an hour before dawn is the darkest time of the night. That is when your chances of seeing the shooting stars will be at the maximum. And the best chance to see the shooting stars is in the hour before dawn when the Moon will have set in the west. Typically, the Lyrids produce 10 to 20 meteors an hour and are more likely to include bright, dramatic fireballs.

The conditions to step out to see the fireballs this year may not be perfect, but you can still enjoy watching it, as long as you are following the protocols and maintaining social distancing. These coming days are special, as along with the meteor shower, the year’s first supermoon, called the Pink Moon, will occur on April 26. If you miss the Lyrids, the next chance to see a meteor is on May 6, the Eta Aquarids.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 18, 2021 05:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).