Lyrids meteor shower 2025: When is it? How can I see it?

A shooting star from the Lyrid meteor shower is seen over China's Mingantu Observing Station

Astronomy fans will be craning their necks upwards over the next few weeks as the Lyrids meteor shower will be visible in the night sky.

The amazing sight happens every year, and in 2025 it will be active from 16 to 25 April, and will peak on Tuesday 22 April.

The Lyrids is one of the oldest known meteor showers and has been observed for more than 2,500 years.

It's noticeable for its fast, bright meteors - and can produce as many as 100 shooting stars per hour!

What is the Lyrid meteor shower?

Many meteor showers are caused by debris from a passing comet. For the Lyrids, the comet is named Comet Thatcher.

The comet was found in 1861 and takes 417 years to go around the Sun.

Thatcher is located in our sky in the direction of the constellation Andromeda. Its path brings it close to the Earth's, then takes it really far away.

The debris from Comet Thatcher is what enters Earth's orbit each year, to create the meteor shower.

The Lyrids meteor shower takes place every year around mid to late April

Unlike some other meteor showers, Lyrids don't tend to leave long, glowing dust trains behind them - but they can occasionally produce a bright flash called a fireball.

The Lyrid meteor shower also seems to make an 'outburst' or produce an unexpectedly large number of meteors, every 60 years.

The next Lyrids 'outburst' is due in 2042.

What are meteors?

Are you sitting comfortably? These guys had the right idea when they sat down to watch the Lyrids meteor shower

A meteor is a space rock that falls into the Earth's atmosphere and, as it falls, it gets very hot.

The rock gets so hot that a visible glow is created around it.

So, what we see isn't actually the falling rock - it's the glowing heat around it - racing across the sky.

When lots of meteors fall all at once around the same place, the glow of heat around them, gets brighter so we can see them.

This often looks like a shower of light in the sky.

The meteors we see have little to no chance of hitting the Earth - they are usually really small, from the size of a grain of sand to a small boulder, and burn up before they can reach us.

How can you see a meteor shower?

Once you know when a meteor shower is happening you don't need a lot of fancy equipment like a telescope, just a clear night with no clouds, warm clothes and some patience.

It's important to wrap up warm as you might be sitting still for a long time - don't get cold!

Get in a comfy position, perhaps lying back on a chair, so you don't strain your neck, turn off any lights you can and go to the darkest part of the garden.

Give your eyes about 20 minutes to adjust to the darkness, then sit back, keep watch and enjoy.