The Lyrid meteor shower should be at its best on the nights of April 20 and 21. Because of the new moon, conditions will be perfect for viewing, and a peak of a dozen or so meteors per hour may be expected.
The Lyrids are pieces of debris from the periodic Comet C/1861 G1Thatcher and have been observed for more than 2,600 years. Earth runs into the stream of debris from the comet in mid-April of each year. The Lyrids are named as such because they appear to originate from a point in the constellation Lyra.
See stardate.org and nasa.gov for more information.
