Stargazers will want to look up this week as the Lyrid meteor display lights up the night sky.
The meteor shower began on April 14 and should be clearly visible until April 30. According to the Royal Museums Greenwich, the shower is set to peak on the night of April 22-3.
The best time for stargazers to take a look at the shower is in the early morning of the peak day.
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The Lyrid meteor shower is a result of debris left in the wake of Comet Thatcher, and occurs annually around mid to late April. When the Earth passes through this trail of material, pieces fall into the atmosphere and burn up - which is why we can see them as a streak of light in the sky.
The Lyrids are named after the constellation of Lyra, which contains the star Vega, because their path across the night sky appears to originate from that group of stars. It's the oldest recorded meteor shower still visible today, having been first recorded in 687 BCE.
The Lyrids can be seen in both the northern and southern hemispheres, with up to 18 meteors an hour visible at the peak of the shower. Most will appear about as bright as the stars of the Big Dipper - but some, classed as fireballs, may appear even brighter than Venus.
Following its peak, the Lyrid meteor shower continues until around April 30.
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