2017 Lyrid Meteor Shower: Saturday Night is Last Peak Evening

GREENFIELD, WI — We are expected to have a gorgeous weekend, and you might want to cast your gaze skyward Saturday night for what is expected to be the final peak evening of the Lyrid Meteor Shower.

The Lyrid meteor shower is actually pieces of the comet Thatcher. Every April, pieces of the comet hit Earth's atmosphere at more than 100,000 miles per hour, leaving behind bright streaks in the sky.

The morning of April 22 was reportedly the first peak night of the shower, but you likely have one more evening to see it at its height.

According to Earthsky.org, here's the bottom line: The Lyrid meteor shower offers 10 to 20 meteors per hour at its peak on a moonless night. The peak numbers are expected to fall on the morning of April 22. Try watching on April 21 and 23, too. In 2017, the light of the waning crescent moon won’t too greatly interfere with the Lyrid shower. In rare instances, Lyrid meteors can bombard the sky with up to nearly 100 meteors per hour. No Lyrid meteor storm is expected this year … but you never know.

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