Best date to see Lyrid meteor shower this month in rare night sky display (2025)

April showers will soon light up the night sky

Stargazers are gearing up for one of spring's best meteor showers as the Lyrids are set to light up UK skies this month.

The Lyrid meteor shower is expected to be the highlight of an array of celestial events in April, with a Pink 'micromoon' and a cosmic 'smiley face' also gracing UK skies.

Following the 'Blood Moon' partial lunar eclipse and stunning partial solar eclipse in March, the month of April has a tough act to follow – but the Lyrids could bring a spectacular show of nearly 20 shooting stars an hour to the night sky.

What is the Lyrid meteor shower?

Meteors are small chunks of space debris left behind by celestial objects like asteroids and comets. Whenever the Earth moves through this trail, a number of these pieces of debris fall into the atmosphere and burn up to create 'shooting stars' – a glowing, short-lived streak of light.

According to the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the Lyrid meteor shower is caused by the dust of Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher that spreads on its 415.5-year orbit around the sun. The Lyrid meteor shower was first recorded in 687 BCE and is the oldest shower on record to still be visible today.

During the Lyrids, meteors stream across the sky parallel to one another, appearing to travel sideways across the night sky from Earth. At its peak, the shower produces around 18 meteors per hour.

What's special about the Lyrids?

The Lyrids are known for their fast and vivid shooting stars with bright dust trails that glow in the sky. They can also bring uncommon surges where stargazers could see up to 100 meteors per hour!

Without the bright glow of the Moon, some Lyrid meteors can be seen to leave persistent trails that glow for a few seconds after the meteors have passed across the sky. Rarely, Lyrid meteors can be so bright that they outshine Venus, the brightest planet in the sky – and these are known as fireballs.

Luckily for stargazers, the Moon won't get in the way during the peak of the 2025 Lyrids shower as it will be below the horizon until around 3am, offering optimum night sky conditions for the spectacular show (as long as skies are clear!).

Best time to see the Lyrid meteor shower in 2025

In 2025, the Lyrid meteor shower will be visible from April 16-25, peaking on April 22, according to the Royal Observatory Greenwich. It says the best time to see the shower is in the early morning of the peak day, starting after midnight and becoming more intense before dawn.

The meteors can be seen appearing to radiate from around the star Vega in the constellation of Lyra the Lyre, hence the name "Lyrids". This is in the eastern sky and can be found between the Summer Triangle and the constellation Hercules.

How to watch the Lyrid meteor shower

As with any night sky event, meteor showers are best viewed in a dark sky location away from high buildings and street lights.

For the ultimate stargazing setup, use a reclining chair or lounger to avoid straining your neck by looking up at the sky. Then, give yourself up to 20 minutes in the dark to allow your eyes to adapt, without looking at your phone.

By looking at about 60 degrees above the eastern horizon between midnight and dawn, you could spot some Lyrids streaming from the constellation Lyra.