The Lyrids are a reliable annual shower of bright fast meteors, some with trains, associated with the periodic Comet Thatcher. The Lyrids are so called because the shower’s ‘radiant’ (the point from which meteor trails appear to radiate) is in the constellation of Lyra, in the north-eastern sky as seen from the UK.

Most Lyrid meteors are around magnitude +2 but some, known as ‘Lyrid fireballs’, are much brighter and cast shadows for an instant, leaving behind smoky trails of debris that can last several minutes.

The Lyrids are not generally among the most spectacular showers, and usually only produce between 5-20 meteors per hour. However, occasionally the Earth
passes through a thicker part of the comet’s dust stream resulting in a more intense shower or ‘meteor storm’. In 1982 amateur astronomers counted 90 Lyrid meteors per hour, and in 1803 an even stronger storm was observed.

The Lyrids were also observed as far back as 687 BC as recorded in the Chinese ‘Zuo Zhuan’ or Chronicle of Zuo, making them the earliest-known meteor shower.

The next major annual shower is the Eta Aquarids, associated with Comet Halley. These are generally visible from around 24 April until 20 May, with a peak around 5 May when you can hope to see up to 35 meteors per hour.