The Lyrid meteor shower returns: this is when you can see it at its peak

For several days this month, the night sky will offer an enticing spectacle of shooting stars

Almudena Nogués

Malaga

Thursday, 17 April 2025, 11:40

Astronomy lovers have a new special date to mark in their calendars. The Lyrids (a meteor shower) are returning in the middle of April. Although their activity is moderate, the fleetingness and brightness of their meteors make this annual event one of the most awaited by observers and amateurs.

Behind this phenomenon is comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher) - a long-period celestial body that orbits the Sun every 415 years. When the Earth passes through the trail of particles left in its wake, the fragments collide with our atmosphere and burn up at almost 50 kilometres per second, generating the well-known shooting stars.

Although the shower will be active for a little more than a week (between 16 and 25 April), the peak of activity is expected on 22 April at 3.30pm (Spanish mainland time). As this falls in the middle of the afternoon in Spain, the best time to observe the spectacle will be during the previous night (21-22 April) and the early hours of the following morning.

Observers should be able to see between 15 and 20 meteors per hour under peak conditions, although there have been bursts of activity of more than 100 meteors per hour on some occasions. Their unpredictability is precisely one of their greatest attractions.

To enjoy this phenomenon without distractions or artificial lights, it is advisable to look for darker open spaces, away from urban areas. Once in the right place, just look south, locate the star Vega - the brightest star in the constellation Lyra - and wait. The lyrids can be seen with the naked eye, as long as you are very attentive to catch their luminous traces.

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