Lyrids meteor shower 2026 and 2027

What the Lyrids are

The Lyrids are grains of dust shed by comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher), which A. E. Thatcher discovered in April 1861. The International Meteor Organization (IMO) describes Thatcher as a long-period comet; Earth meets the stream of debris it has left along its orbit every April. When those grains strike the upper atmosphere at high speed, they burn up as meteors.

The shower is named after Lyra, the small constellation that holds Vega, one of the brightest stars in the sky. The radiant lies close to Vega, which makes it easy to locate even from a light-polluted yard.

What they look like

NASA describes Lyrids as fast and bright. They don’t often leave the long, glowing trains seen after Perseids, but they do produce the occasional fireball. IMO has also noted that, at the moment of highest rates, the Lyrids sometimes deliver a short increase in faint meteors.

How to watch from the US

The whole US is well placed. The radiant rises in the northeast during the evening, and IMO says useful watching starts after about 10:30 p.m. local time from mid-northern latitudes. Rates improve as the radiant climbs, so the hours after midnight until the start of dawn are best, which is what the best-hours table above reflects.

Pick a dark spot, recline, and face roughly east, taking in as much sky as you can. Don’t fix your gaze on Vega itself: meteors near the radiant look short because they are coming almost straight at you, while those farther away show longer trails, as NASA explains. Allow about 30 minutes for your eyes to adapt. Our guide to watching a meteor shower covers what to bring.

The Lyrid peak is sharp and its timing shifts from year to year. IMO’s analysis found that the time of maximum varies by several hours, and that stronger returns may be the ones closest to the long-term reference time, a link IMO says still needs confirming. Watch the night before and after as well, if the sky allows.

Notable history

The Lyrids are one of the oldest showers on record. NASA dates the first known account to Chinese observers in 687 BC, about 2,700 years ago.

The shower has surprised observers several times. NASA lists heavy displays of up to about 100 meteors an hour in 1803 (Virginia), 1922 (Greece), 1945 (Japan) and 1982 (United States). IMO records the 1982 event as a short-lived burst with a ZHR of 90. ZHR, the zenithal hourly rate, is the rate a single observer would see under a perfectly dark sky with the radiant overhead.

2026 and 2027 outlook

2026 (past). IMO gave a reference maximum of April 22 at 19:40 UT, with recent peaks falling anywhere from 16:40 UT on April 22 to 00:00 UT on April 23. No enhancement was predicted, and IMO expected no moonlight problem, with first quarter two days after the peak.

2027. IMO places the maximum on April 23 at 01:40 UT, three days after full Moon. Of the year’s major shower peaks, IMO rates this one as having the worst conditions: the bright Moon will be in Libra and Scorpius, lighting the sky just as the radiant gains height. Only brighter Lyrids will show through. IMO’s 2027 calendar mentions no predicted enhancement. The full year’s outlook is on our 2027 meteor shower page.