Lyrid meteor—last watching chance
- The Lyrid meteor shower is fading on Saturday, April 25, but skywatching guides said late tonight into early Sunday still offers one of the last chances to catch the 2026 display. - The shower’s peak came earlier in the week, with forecasts calling for about 10 to 20 meteors an hour under dark skies, and NASA imagery showed the streaks from orbit. - The Lyrids return every April as Earth crosses debris from Comet Thatcher, and this year’s waning moon left darker skies for much of the peak (skyatnightmagazine.com)
The Lyrid meteor shower is winding down on Saturday, April 25, but late tonight into early Sunday is still a final viewing window for 2026. (skyatnightmagazine.com) A meteor shower happens when Earth moves through a stream of comet dust, and those tiny bits burn up high in the atmosphere as bright streaks. The Lyrids come from debris left by Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. (skyatnightmagazine.com) Guides for this year’s shower said the peak fell around April 21 to April 23, with roughly 10 to 20 meteors an hour possible in dark, clear skies away from city lights. (skyatnightmagazine.com) (lohud.com) The best way to watch is still the simplest one: look up after moonset or before dawn, let your eyes adjust for about 20 to 30 minutes, and avoid phone screens. (skyatnightmagazine.com) One of the most striking images this week came from orbit, where a NASA astronaut photographed the Lyrids from about 250 miles above Earth aboard the International Space Station. (lohud.com) The Lyrids are one of the oldest recorded meteor showers, with observations going back more than 2,500 years in Chinese records. They are not the year’s busiest shower, but they can produce occasional bursts above their usual rate. (skyatnightmagazine.com) Backyard stargazers also have other targets after the meteors thin out. Evening sky guides said Saturn, Jupiter, Venus and the Moon remain visible on different nights through May 1. (skyatnightmagazine.com) By Sunday morning, the 2026 Lyrids will be largely spent, and the next real shot at the shower will come when Earth returns to the same comet trail in April 2027. (skyatnightmagazine.com)
