Lyrid Meteor Fireballs Peak: When To Watch Skies Over FL

FLORIDA — It’s time to start watching for fireballs in the skies over Florida as the Lyrid meteor shower peak approaches this weekend.

The best times to view this shooting star show, known for producing fireballs that blaze across the sky and leave dust trails that last for several seconds, are from evening to dawn Friday through Monday morning.

That all hinges on the weather, of course. The National Weather Service forecast for the Tampa Bay region on the Lyrids peak dates calls for partly cloudy skies Friday night, and then mostly clear skies on both Saturday and Sunday evenings.

In the Miami area, the NWS predicts partly cloudy skies all three nights.

If the weather cooperates, viewing conditions will be close to ideal. The moon will barely shine — it will be 2 percent illuminated and will set early in the evenings.

With all meteor showers, find an area that’s far from city lights or street lights. Bring blankets and sleeping bags, and lie flat on your back, so you can take in as much of the sky as possible. Give your eyes a chance to adapt to the light, and you should begin to see meteors.

These are top sky-watching spots in Florida, according to Space Tourism Guide:

• Alligator Alley
• Big Pine Key
• Chiefland Astronomy Village
• Doe Lake Campground
• Everglades National Park
• Fox Observatory at Markham Park
• From a Boat east of Miami
• Kirby Storter Roadside Park
• Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park
• Loxahatchee Refuge
• Myakka River State Park
• Pensacola Beach
• Sebastian Inlet
• St. George Island
• St. Joseph Peninsula State Park

Meteors are leftover comet particles and bits broken from asteroids. When comets — in the case of the Lyrids, Comet Thatcher — orbit the sun, they leave behind a dusty trail. When Earth passes through the debris trail every year, these bits collide with our atmosphere and disintegrate into fiery, colorful streaks, according to NASA.

Comet Thatcher is a long-period comet whose orbit of the sun takes 415.5 years. To have seen its last closest approach to the sun, you’d have to have been around in 1861.

The Lyrids continue through April 29, intersecting with the Eta Aquariids, which also started on April 5.

• Related: 2023 FL Guide To Meteor Showers, Supermoons And Full Moons

Sometimes called the Eta Aquariids, the show runs through May 27 this year. The peak occurs May 5-6 — at the same time the full flower moon is 100 percent full.

The Eta Aquariids have a broad peak, and that means skywatchers may see elevated numbers of meteors a few days before and after the peak, though the moonlight will compete, according to EarthSky.org.

At the peak, the Eta Aquariids produce between 10 and 30 meteors an hour, according to NASA. They’re known for their speed, entering Earth’s atmosphere at about 148,000 miles an hour, and also for leaving glowing “trains” — incandescent bits of debris — that last for several seconds to minutes.