April shower of shooting stars

November's Leonids shower was marred by clouds

An April shower of the oldest meteors on record will be visible this weekend.

Called the Lyrids, the meteor shower will reach a peak in the early hours of Sunday morning and will be best viewed from the northern hemisphere.

This is a good year for the Lyrids because the Moon will be almost new when the shower peaks

George Lebo, astronomer

In the UK, the most active time will be at 0500 BST on Sunday, just before sunrise.

"This is a good year for the Lyrids because the Moon will be almost new when the shower peaks," said astronomy professor George Lebo.

Typical Lyrid meteors are about as bright as the stars in the The Plough (Big Dipper), which makes this shower a good one for beginners

To catch a glimpse of the Lyrids, skywatchers are advised to look towards the north. At its peak, a maximum of about 10 meteors an hour can be expected.

'Stars like rain'

The Lyrids is produced by debris from comet Thatcher, which was last seen in 1861 and will not be making another visit to the Earth's part of the Solar System for about 300 years.

Major Lyrid outbursts have been recorded in 1803, 1922, and 1982. Many minor outbursts have also occurred sporadically throughout the years.

The shower was first described in 687 BC by Chinese astronomers, who wrote of "stars that fell like rain". But this weekend's display will not compare with the spectacle 2,700 years ago.

The ongoing Lyrid meteor shower began on 16 April. It will peak on the 22nd and subside on 25 April.