Look up! Lyrid fireballs can still flash across the sky through the end of April
The oldest meteor shower on record is still sending fireballs racing across our night sky!
After a mysterious uptick in the number of fireballs streaking through our skies in March, we are now in the debris stream of an ancient comet known for these bright meteors, as the annual Lyrid meteor shower lights up our nights.
On April 14, our planet began passing through a concentrated stream of ice, dust, and pebbles, left behind by a comet named C/1861 G1 (Thatcher). Currently, Comet Thatcher is far out in the solar system, well beyond the orbit of Pluto. It's not due to return to Earth's vicinity until the year 2283.
This simulation shows the orbit and debris stream from Comet Thatcher, as viewed from far out in the solar system. The locations of the inner planets are indicated as of April 22, 2026, with Earth intersecting the orbital path of the comet. Inset is a fully-zoomed out view, showing the comet's current position in the outer solar system. Credit: Meteorshowers.org/Scott Sutherland
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Every year during the latter half of April, though, our planet's atmosphere sweeps up meteoroids from this comet, which originate from the stream of dust and ice it leaves behind in its orbit. As these meteoroids plunge into the upper atmosphere, they exert enormous pressure on the atoms and molecules in their path, causing that air to light up in a flash known as a meteor.
As all of these particular meteors can be traced back to a point in the sky near the constellation Lyra, this is known as the Lyrid meteor shower.
This is the oldest of all the yearly meteor showers. According to records, it was first observed over 2,700 years ago!
The position of the Lyrid 'radiant', in the northeastern sky, around midnight on the night of April 22-23, 2026, when the Lyrids peak. We will have a Waxing Crescent Moon on that night, which will rise before noon on the 22nd, and set after midnight on the 23rd. (Stellarium)
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As with nearly all meteor showers, the Lyrids follow a specific pattern, night-to-night. During the first week or so, it only produces a few meteors every hour. Then, their numbers ramp up to a peak as we pass through the densest part of the debris stream. After that, their numbers ramp down again until the shower ends when we leave the stream altogether.
For the Lyrids, we encounter Comet Thatcher's debris between April 14 and April 30, each year. __The shower peaks on the night of April 22-23 (in 2026).
The meteor shower is active from dusk to dawn each night during that period. The radiant — the point in the sky where the meteors appear to originate from — will be just above the northeastern horizon after sunset. So, we only need to wait for the Sun to set for the show to begin. The radiant then climbs higher in the sky, along with the bright star, Vega, and reaches its apex, directly above, just before dawn.
During the Lyrids peak, observers consistently report seeing up to 20 meteors per hour throughout the night.
While most of these will be just bright enough to see and last for only a fraction of a second, some will surprise us with their brightness!
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Lyrid Fireballs!
While the Lyrids are only considered a 'moderate' meteor shower, it includes an extra special treat for those who get out to see it — exceptionally bright meteors known as fireballs.
A fireball is any meteor that shines at least as bright as the planet Venus in our sky. Some can even be spotted from hundreds of kilometres in all directions.
This image of a Lyrid meteor fireball was captured from Port Elmsley, Ontario, along with the Aurora Borealis, in April of 2017. (Fiona Donnelly/UGC)
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Fireballs are common during the Lyrids due to the exceptional speed that Comet Thatcher's debris is travelling at when it gets swept up by our planet. Plunging into Earth's atmosphere at speeds of around 100,000 kilometres per hour, any meteoroid larger than a grain of dust can blaze a bright trail across the sky.
Lyrid fireballs are often bright enough to be spotted even during a Full Moon, or by observers affected by the densest urban light pollution. So, keep an eye out for them throughout the night.
Keep looking up!!
As of April 23, we've now passed through the Lyrids peak, but there's still another week left for this meteor shower to deliver. That means there's still a chance to spot more fireballs!
The American Meteor Society collected a total of 35 separate fireball events during the April 22-23 Lyrids peak.
More than half of those events were from the United States. They were also reported from over a dozen other countries, including 3 in Canada, 2 in the United Kingdom, and 4 each from Germany and Brazil. While some may have been random 'sporadic' fireballs, it's likely the majority were due to the Lyrids.
If we count since April 14, the number of fireball events jumps to 246, so far!
While the vast majority were only spotted by a few people, at most, there were 8 significant events (20+ reports), with one — over France on April 19 — was reported by over 800 witnesses!
So, if your night sky is reasonably clear and you have a few moments to spare, keep looking up! You might just spot something amazing!