See it: Lyrid meteor shower peaks in dazzling worldwide display
Earth's spectacular celestial show continued into the early hours of Tuesday morning for observers in the U.S. as swift and luminous meteors shot across the open sky.
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We call them shooting stars, but it's actually meteors that create dazzling streaks of light across our night sky.
NEW YORK – Stargazers across the globe were treated to a dazzling display of shooting stars Monday night as the annual Lyrid meteor shower reached its peak.
A Lyrid meteor is seen in the sky above Lee Park in Liverpool, Merseyside, on April 22, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
The luminous Lyrids painted the U.S. skies in the early Tuesday hours for observers in the U.S., offering a spectacular celestial show in Redwood City, California.
A view of the Lyrid meteor shower in Redwood City, California, on April 22, 2025. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Lyrids originate from the dusty trail left behind by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. This long-period comet, discovered by astronomer A.E. Thatcher in 1861, takes an estimated 415 years to complete a single orbit around the Sun and hasn't been seen in our inner solar system since. As Earth passes through this stream of debris each April, the tiny particles burn up in our atmosphere, creating the streaks of light we know as meteors.
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A man aims a torch toward the sky under the starry night in Rakwana, Sri Lanka, on April 21, 2025. (Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
While an average meteor shower typically produces 10 to 20 meteors per hour, the Lyrids occasionally surprise with bursts of up to 100 meteors per hour.
A Lyrid meteor is seen in the sky above Lee Park in Liverpool, Merseyside, on April 22, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
This year's display did not disappoint many observers, who reported seeing numerous bright streaks illuminating the night sky as seen here in Ankara, Turkey’s cosmopolitan capital in the country’s central Anatolia region.
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If this celestial show disappointed you or if cloud cover got in the way, the Eta Aquarids meteor shower in early May will offer another chance to see shooting stars. The Eta Aquarids peak May 3-4, according to NASA.
Click here to see your complete guide to all this year's celestial events, featuring more full Moons, eclipses and Supermoons.