The spring and summer meteor shower season starts this month with the Lyrid meteor shower, which runs April 16-25, but peaks Sunday, April 22, but skywatchers may also see them on the days before and after the peak.



At its peak, the Lyrids will produce between 15 and 20 meteors an hour, and the best time to see the show is early in the morning before dawn on April 22. The moon will be out of the way and will have set before the Lyrids kick up, so, depending on weather conditions in your area of Texas, this show should be a winner. The Lyrids are known to be fickle and unpredictable, but typically produce about 15 and 20 meteors an hour, many with trails that last a few seconds and, occasionally, a few fireballs. In some years, the shower intensifies in what's called an "outburst" and produce up to 100 shooting stars.

The last Lyrid outburst was in 1982, according to Earthsky.org, which said U.S. skywatchers were treated to a spectacular show that year. And though the calendar might suggest we're due for another one — Lyrid outbursts might occur generally occur in 30-year intervals — NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke predicts an average show this year.

"People say there is some periodicity there," Cooke told Space.com, "but the data doesn't support that." One of the oldest showers on record, the Lyrids were detected in China around 687 BC, but its source, the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, wasn't discovered until 1861. The meteor shower originates from the constellation Lyra to the northeast of Vega, one of the brightest stars visible in the night sky this time of year, but meteors will be visible from anywhere in the sky.

All meteor showers occur when the Earth crosses the path of a comet and collide with the trail of comet debris, making their occurrence predictable. They leave bright streaks — called shooting stars.

Lyrid meteors are fast, but not as fast as the Leonids, which come in November, Cooke told Space.com.

"The Leonids hit us head on," he said, while the "Lyrids are more like hitting the left front of the fender." Here's what's ahead through spring and summer: