Lyrid Meteor Shower Peaking Tonight - PAGASA

The Lyrid Meteor Shower will be peaking tonight, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

Lyrid Meteor Shower Peaking Tonight (Photo: NASA)

Although not numerous, Lyrids are bright and fast meteors. The shower typically generates a dozen meteors per hour under optimal conditions with a brief maximum that lasts for less than a day, PAGASA said.

It is not going to be a good idea to watch the meteor shower during predawn as the bright Gibbous Moon will drown out fainter meteors, the state weather bureau added.

Tonight is only the beginning of the peak of the display and it can still be viewed in the next few nights.

The Lyrid Meteor Shower has been observed for more than 2,600 years. Chinese records show that "stars fell like rain" during the meteor shower of 687 B.C. However, in recent times, the Lyrids have generally been weak.

The radiant of the meteor shower is located in the constellation Lyra, near this constellation's brightest star, Alpha Lyrae; hence they are also called the Alpha Lyrids and sometimes the April Lyrids.