Lyrids: how and when is the April meteor shower

It’s here the always awaited rain of stars in April, the Lyrid shower, but the peak of this shower comes on the night of April 22-23, and this year 2023 the fact that the Moon is practically hidden – the new Moon took place together with a hybrid solar eclipse on Thursday 20 April– makes observation conditions very good in places where clouds do not cover the sky and light pollution is low.

The Lyrids are the most anticipated meteor shower of spring and began to take place on April 16. Here we tell you how long it lasts and why tonight is the best to see it, especially if you want to see one of its famous “balls of fire”. You will also discover where it looks best from and where to look when you look up.

When is the 2023 Lyrid shower?

Although the rain extends from April 16 to 25, andhe day of maximum intensity of the Lyrid rain in 2023 was Saturday, April 22 at night and during the early hours of Sunday, until dawn.

According to the National Geographic Institute, the Lyrids present an average activity rate of 20 meteors per hour for several days, and a speed of 49 kilometers per second. Not a shower of the most intense meteor showers, but some years the activity skyrockets to more than 100 meteors per hourquite a show.

Why does the Lyrid rain occur?

The “shooting stars” we see are actually meteoroids. The Lyrid shower occurs because, on our journey aboard the Earth we pass each year around these dates through a ring of debris or fragments – meteoroids – left behind by a comet called Thatcher, the comet C/1861 G1.

When any of these fragments or meteoroids come into contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, friction with the air causes them to reach temperatures up to 1,600 ºC and are calcined, creating those fine and ephemeral glowing trails that we see in the sky and that we associate with a shooting star.

The Lyrid shower is the meteor shower for which there are oldest records and that we continue to see today. The first records date from 687 BC. c.

From where to see the rain of the Lyrids

To see the meteor showers well, it is best to find a clear place where you have a wide view of the celestial dome and away from the city, with little or no light pollution. In the case of the Lyrids, if you can wait until late at night, when the constellation of Lyra has risen in the firmament, the better you will see it. As dawn approaches, keep in mind that the increase in clarity will reduce your visibility.

Shooting stars will appear to come out of the radiant, but they can actually appear and be seen for a few seconds anywhere in the sky. Lie back and enjoy.

Where to look in the sky

Each meteor shower seems to have a only center of origin that we know as “radiant”, as explained by the National Geographic Institute. All of the shooting stars in each meteor shower appear to emerge from its radiant, so where that point is located is often used to give the particular shower its name.

In the Lyrid shower the radiant is in the constellation of Lyra –hence the “Lyrids”– and near its Vega, its brightest star. In Time and Date you can see a map of the firmament with the radiant of the Lyrids as seen from your location to locate this point.

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In the northern hemisphere, at our latitude, this radiant becomes visible about an hour after sunset, until sunrise.

Experts recommend look to the opposite side of where the moon iswhich on the night of April 22 to 24 will only be illuminated between 8% (one hour after sunset, around 9:00 p.m. Spanish peninsular time) and 10% (around 7:00 a.m., just before dawn).

What are “fireballs”

From time to time some of the fragments of the meteor showers shine with particular force, looking as bright as Venus, the planet that shines the most in our sky. They are what is known by the eloquent name of “balls of fire”.

The Lyrids are known to be one of the rains that gives us more “balls of fire”, although it is impossible to predict if we will see them this Friday or not. We will have to be vigilant!

Make a wish on a shooting star?

Since time immemorial, humans have made wishes when seeing a shooting star. According to Marga Roldán, an expert in evolutionary astrology, “it is a millennial tradition related to the arrival of a soul on earth, as reflected in the sacred scriptures with the birth of Jesus and the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem thanks to a star that guided them there. It is also an omen of good luck and prosperity.”

Another theory formulated by the second century Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy said that the shooting star means the opening of a communication portal between heaven and earth. “Thanks to this door that opened when a shooting star fell, humans could ask the gods for our wishes,” explains Marga Roldán. “It is said that you have to make a wish when you see it before it disappears, because the door of communication with the gods closes when the light of the shooting star disappears.”

“When you look at the sky and see these wonderful meteors traveling at full speed through the sky, make your wish with all your might, because any theory that you like and makes you feel good is worth following,” he recommends.