Lyrid Meteor Shower 2022: When To See Fireballs Over Tucson

TUCSON, AZ — If you're looking for a chill way to celebrate Earth Day on Friday, why not look to the heavens and check out the Lyrid meteor shower? The best time to be on the lookout for fireballs in Tucson is early in the morning. Shooting stars might also be visible in the evenings, now through Friday, as well.

In typical Arizona fashion, skies are expected to be clear now through Friday, with overnight lows in the upper 50s, according to the National Weather Service.

Lyrid is the first of the spring meteor showers and it tends to produce 15 or 20 shooting stars per hour, but in the past it has also put on quite a show with fireballs that streak across the nighttime sky, leaving seconds-long glowing dust trails in their wake, according to NASA.

The moon will be a problem, with more than 60 percent of it still illuminated via the recent full pink moon, and that may wash out fainter meteors. But because the Lyrids are known to be exceptionally bright, patient skywatchers should be rewarded.

In some years, the Lyrids dance across the sky at a rate of about 100 an hour in what’s called an “outburst,” but NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com he expects about 18 shooting stars an hour this year.

Outbursts are difficult to predict, he said. They occur about every 30 years, but that’s only an average, Cooke said. “People say there is some periodicity there,” he told Space.com, explaining “the data doesn’t support that” because actual numbers between outburst events vary.

The Lyrid meteor showers are produced by dust particles left behind by the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher — a “long period comet” whose orbit around the sun takes 415.5 years, according to NASA. The Lyrid meteor shower has been observed for some 2,700 years and is one of the oldest-known meteor showers.

• Related: 2022 Guide To Meteor Showers, Supermoons, Eclipses

To see the Lyrids, head out to a dark sky location after dark. Be sure to pack along a sleeping bag and blanket (and perhaps a reclining lawn chair) and lie flat on your back with your feet facing east, NASA said. Patience pays. Give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness, and prepare to stick around until dawn.

As with all meteor showers, unless it’s already dark where you live, it’s best to get out in the country away from city lights to get the best views. If you're a Tucsonan willing to take a bit of a drive, think about a trip to Oracle State Park (about an hour northwest of Tucson,) Kartchner Caverns State Park (about 50 minutes southwest of Tucson) or Tumacácori National Historical Park (about 45 minutes south of Tucson.) All of the aforementioned parks are designated as part of the International Dark Sky Places Program.

The next chance to see meteors will be in early May with the monthlong Eta Aquarids meteor shower, which started Tuesday and runs through May 28 and peaks May 4-5. The meteor shower favors the Southern Hemisphere, where it produces about 60 meteors an hour, but it's a decent show in the Northern Hemisphere, too, and viewers in this part of the world can expect to see about half that many. Comet Haley is the parent of this meteor shower, which has been observed since ancient times.

The Eta Aquariid meteors are swift and produce a high percentage of persistent dust trails, but few fireballs, according to NASA.