The April Lyrids, a meteor shower lasting from April 16 to April 26 each year, is seen over the ancient city of Aizanoi in Kutahya, Turkey on April 23, 2014.Fatma Selma Kocabas Aydin—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
You won’t want to miss this week’s meteor shower, so here’s what you need to know.
The annual Lyrid meteor shower occurs from April 16 to 25, but the best time to see it will be right before dawn on April 22 and 23, according to Slooh, an online observatory. This year’s shower promises to be especially good to watch because it coincides with a crescent moon, meaning the sky will be darker than usual.
“This year the moon will be a waxing crescent only 1/15th the brightness of a full moon, and it will set early, allowing excellent dark sky conditions for this shower,” said Slooh astronomer Bob Berman in a statement.
The best views will be in Europe, but people all across the globe should be able to catch some of the dazzling Lyrid fireballs by heading outside just before dawn. You can also watch a livestream of the meteor shower below, hosted by Slooh, beginning at 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
A Perseid meteor shower at Chapel of Garioch, near Aberdeen on Aug. 12, 2013.Geoffrey Robinson—Rex USAA bright Geminid meteor falls from the sky over the summit of 14,505 foot Mount Whitney in California's Sierra Nevada mountains on Dec. 14, 2011.Tony Rowell—CorbisA multiple exposure of a Leonid meteor shower over Joshua Tree National Park.Tony Hallas—Science Faction/CorbisStonehenge during a Perseid meteor shower in Salisbury Plain, England on Aug. 13, 2013.Kieran Doherty—Reuters/CorbisA Perseid meteor shower set against the Milky Way in Sebastopol, Calif., on Aug. 12, 2010.Ethan T. Allen—Zuma PressFramed within Mobuis Arch, a Geminid meteor streaks through a starfilled sky above the Sierra Nevada mountains in California's Eastern Sierra on Dec. 14, 2011.Tony Rowell—CorbisA Leonid meteor shower, centered on Polaris, the North Star. The smoky residue of the meteor trails have been blown by upper atmospheric wind. The color shift is due to the meteoroid burning.Tony Hallas—Science Faction/CorbisA Perseid meteor streaks across the sky over the Lovell Radio Telescope at Jodrell Bank on Aug. 13, 2013 in Holmes Chapel, England.Christopher Furlong—Getty ImagesA Perseid meteor streaks past stars in the night sky over the village of Kuklici, known for its hundreds of naturally formed stones, near Kratovo, east of Skopje, on Aug. 13, 2012. Ognen Teofilovski—ReutersA multiple exposure of a Leonid meteor shower.Tony Hallas—Science Faction/CorbisPerseid meteors streak across the sky through star trails over Cathedral Gorge State Park in this long exposure on Aug. 12, 2013.David Becker—Zuma PressGeminid meteors streak across the sky behind a barn in western Iowa on Dec. 12, 2012.Mike Hollingshead—CorbisThree Perseid meteors appear in the predawn sky over Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada on Aug. 12, 2012.Alan Dyer—Visuals Unlimited/CorbisA Perseid meteor (top) and the trail of an jet airplane converge over the cliff walls of Red Rock Canyon outside of Las Vegas on Aug. 11, 2009.David Becker—ReutersThis 15-minute long exposure shows stars and meteors during the Perseid meteor shower in Imjingak Pyeonghwa-Nuri park in Paju, South Korea, on Aug. 13, 2013.Kim Jae-Sun—EPA
