The Lyrids meteor shower
- Next peak
- April 23, 2027, 01:38 UTC
- Active
- about Apr 15 to May 1
- ZHR (ideal rate)
- 18 (occasional outbursts)
- Moon at the 2027 peak
- 95% lit, badly moonlit
- Radiant
- Lyra
- Speed
- 49 km/s
- Parent body
- comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher)
- Best from
- northern latitudes
The Lyrids are the oldest shower on record: Chinese chronicles describe stars falling like rain from this stream in 687 BC. Their parent comet, Thatcher, takes about 415 years to orbit and will not return until around 2276, yet its debris arrives on schedule every April.
Peak times and moonlight, 2027-2029
Peaks below are computed from the shower's solar longitude, the same way the professional calendars do it, not read off a fixed date. Moonlight makes or breaks a meteor year, so each peak carries its Moon verdict.
| Year | Peak (UTC) | Moon |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | April 23, 2027, 01:38 UTC | Moon 95% lit, badly moonlit |
| 2028 | April 22, 2028, 07:48 UTC | Moon 6% lit, dark skies |
| 2029 | April 22, 2029, 13:56 UTC | Moon 58% lit, some moonlight |
Your best viewing window
Enter a location (or use your device's) and we compute the real watch window for the coming peak night: sky fully dark, Moon out of the way, radiant usefully high. All in your browser; coordinates never leave your device.
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Watching the Lyrids
Rates are modest, but the Lyrids reward patience with occasional fireballs. The radiant near Vega climbs from mid-evening and stands high by the pre-dawn hours.
How to watch any meteor shower
No instrument beats your own eyes: binoculars and telescopes see too little sky. Get away from direct lights, lie back so you can watch a wide stretch of sky about halfway up, and give your eyes a full 20 minutes to adapt (no phone screens; red light if you need it). Meteors appear all over the sky, not just at the radiant, so face whichever direction is darkest for you.
What the ZHR really promises
Every shower is advertised by its ZHR, the zenithal hourly rate, and every year that number disappoints people who take it literally. The ZHR is a standardized laboratory figure: the rate one experienced observer would count under a perfectly dark sky (limiting magnitude 6.5) with the radiant directly overhead. Real skies are brighter, real radiants sit lower, and real eyes miss meteors.
A workable rule: from a genuinely dark rural sky with the radiant high, expect to see about half the ZHR. From a typical suburb, a quarter or less. That said, a single brilliant fireball can outweigh an hour of counting, and the showers on this page all earn their reputations in a dark sky.
Frequently asked questions
When do the Lyrids peak in 2027?
The computed peak comes on April 23, 2027 at 01:38 UTC, with the shower active from about Apr 15 to May 1. Meteor peaks are broad enough that the nights on either side are usually worth watching too.
How many meteors will I actually see?
The headline ZHR of 18 (occasional outbursts) is a standardized ideal, not a forecast. Under a truly dark sky with the radiant high, expect roughly half that; from a bright suburb, a quarter or less. Moonlight matters as much as anything: in 2027 the Moon is 95% lit at the peak (badly moonlit).
Where should I look to see the Lyrids?
Everywhere: meteors streak across the whole sky. The radiant, the point their paths trace back to, lies in Lyra, but staring at it shows you the shortest trails. Watch a wide area of dark sky about halfway up, in whatever direction is darkest from your site.
What causes the Lyrids?
Debris from comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher). Each April, Earth crosses the stream of particles this body has shed along its orbit; they hit the atmosphere at 49 kilometers per second and burn up as the streaks we see.
Keep exploring: all 13 major showers ranked for the year ahead, how meteor showers work from first principles, and the Sky Map, which draws every active radiant on tonight's sky.