The average Lyrid shower produces 15 to 20 meteors per hour.

The meteors appear to emanate from the constellation Lyra the Harp.

The first recorded sighting of a Lyrid meteor shower goes back to 687 BC in China.

Looking for something fun to do? Need to get out of the house? Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning will be the peak of the Lyrids, the first major meteor shower since January.

The annual meteor shower is active each year from about April 16 to April 25, EarthSky said. This year, the skinny and almost-new moon won’t hinder the view. (Bright light from the moon can sometimes wash out meteor showers.)

Although the Lyrid meteor shower can occasionally produce nearly 100 meteors per hour, the average Lyrid shower produces 15 to 20 meteors per hour, according to Space.com.

The Lyrids begin as tiny specks of dust that hit Earth’s atmosphere at 109,600 mph, vaporizing from friction with the air and leaving behind the streaks of light we call meteors, Astronomy magazine reported.

The meteors appear to emanate from the constellation Lyra the Harp, near the bright star Vega, which rises in late evening and passes nearly overhead shortly before dawn, the magazine said.

Lyrids are pieces of debris from the CometC/1861 G1 Thatcher and have been observed for more than 2,700 years, NASA said, making them one of the oldest known meteor showers.

The first recorded sighting of a Lyrid meteor shower goes back to 687 BC in China. Observers there said the Lyrids were "falling like rain."

The Lyrids are known for their fast and bright meteors, NASA said, though not as fast or as plentiful as the famous Perseids in August.

Far out:Has NASA discovered another Earth? Perhaps

Supermoon:Did you catch the biggest, brightest full moon of the year?

Lyrids frequently leave glowing dust trains behind them as they streak through the Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA. These trains can be observable for several seconds.

In rare instances, they can bombard the sky with some 60 to 100 meteors per hour.

"We’re not expecting a Lyrid meteor outburst this year, but even catching a few meteors before dawn counts as a thrill," EarthSky's Bruce McClure said.