Look up Friday for meteor shower

The Lyrid meteor shower is expected to peak Friday and Saturday between midnight and dawn.

This year’s Lyrid peak coincides with a new moon assuring dark skies for maximum viewing. Clouds and a chance of precipitation are expected so your best chance to see will be around midnight for a couple of hours.

The source of this, the oldest known meteor shower, is solid debris from the comet known as "Thatcher" discovered in 1861. As Earth passes through the icy comet’s path, that debris enters our atmosphere creating a “shooting star” as it burns up.

The Lyrids normally produce 10-20 visible meteors per hour at this peak time. However surges of up to 90 per hour have been observed in the past. The number of meteors visible and quality of the show all depends on the amount of material Thatcher has shed recently and how much the weather corporates.

The next meteor shower is the Eta Aquarids around May 5, but activity will likely be obscured by the full moon.

Skywatchers have Aug. 13 marked on their calendars for very active Persieds which should be visible for several hours before just a sliver of moon appears. The story is similar for the Geminids around Dec. 13 which also coincide with a new moon.