Q. Someone told me there is a meteor shower going on this month. Is there really one going on and if so, what can we expect to see?
A. Yes it’s true, the Lyrid meteor shower peaks typically around April 21-22. Don’t confuse this shower with the minor Lyrid meteor shower in June. Both are called Lyrids because they both have meteors which appear to come from Lyra, the Lyre (small harp). In a good year, from dark locations, up to 10 bluish meteors an hour can be seen overhead after midnight, but many years only around six meteors an hour can be seen. On rare occasions the shower may include an outburst, with a hundred or more faint shooting stars visible. This year the shower’s peak on the morning of April 22 should provide prime viewing in dark Arizona skies due to the lack of interference from the razor thin waning crescent moon, two days before new.