Lyrid Meteor Shower peak over NYC

New Yorkers have a shot at the Lyrid meteor shower overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, with the annual peak centered on April 21–22 and the best viewing before dawn. (amsmeteors.org) The American Meteor Society says the Lyrids peak on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, with activity forecast near 20 Universal Time and typical rates around 18 meteors an hour under dark skies. (amsmeteors.org) NASA says the shower comes from debris shed by Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, and those bits flare when they hit Earth’s atmosphere and burn up as streaks of light. (nasa.gov) The Lyrids are best known for bright meteors rather than huge numbers. NASA says most years bring about 10 to 20 meteors an hour at peak, though rare outbursts have produced much higher counts. (nasa.gov) This year’s moon should help more than hurt. The American Meteor Society says the Moon will be 27% full and set before the radiant climbs to a favorable height, leaving minimal lunar interference in 2026. (amsmeteors.org) For New York viewers, NASA says to look east from about 10 p.m. on April 21 through the night into April 22, while local outlet WYRK points to the midnight-to-5 a.m. window as the strongest stretch for New York State. (nasa.gov) (wyrk.com) The shower appears to radiate from Lyra, near the bright star Vega. NASA says Vega is bright enough to pick out even in light-polluted areas, which gives city watchers in New York a useful landmark. (nasa.gov) Seeing the meteors is less about staring at Vega than finding darker sky. NASA recommends getting away from streetlights, lying back with a wide view of the sky, and waiting about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust. (nasa.gov) The Lyrids are also old by meteor-shower standards. NASA says records of the shower go back 2,700 years, with the first known sighting logged in 687 B.C. by Chinese observers. (nasa.gov) If clouds cooperate over New York before sunrise on April 22, the payoff is a handful of fast, bright meteors from one of the sky’s oldest annual shows. (nasa.gov)