Lyrid Meteors Peak: Will Full Pink Moon Outshine Fireballs On LI

LONG ISLAND, NY — After a three-month drought, meteor showers are back, starting the Lyrids, which peak overnight Sunday and Monday. Whether you’ll be able to see the shooting star show, known for its fireballs, depends partly on weather conditions in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Here's the daily forecast for northern Nassau County from the National Weather Service:

• Thursday Afternoon - Showers likely with a chance of drizzle. Patchy fog. Highs around 50. Northeast winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent.
• Tonight -Mostly cloudy. A slight chance of showers with patchy drizzle in the evening. Lows in the mid 40s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph in the evening. Chance of rain 20 percent.
• Friday - Mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 50s. East winds 5 to 10 mph.
• Friday Night - Cloudy. A slight chance of showers in the evening, then a chance of showers after midnight. Lows in the upper 40s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph, becoming southwest after midnight. Chance of rain 30 percent.
• Saturday - Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers in the morning, then partly sunny in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 60s. West winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.
• Saturday Night - Partly cloudy in the evening, then clearing. Lows in the lower 40s.
• Sunday - Sunny in the morning, then becoming partly sunny. Highs around 60.
• Sunday Night - Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 40s.
• Monday - Sunny. Highs in the lower 60s.
• Monday Night - Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 40s.
• Tuesday - Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 60s.
• Tuesday Night - Mostly cloudy. A chance of showers after midnight. Lows around 50. Chance of rain 40 percent.

The nearly full pink moon — so-called because this is the time of year pink ground phlox and other wildflowers begin blooming — could be a problem, too. The moon turns full on Tuesday and will be bright enough that it may wash out all but the brightest shooting stars.

The Lyrid meteor shower is an average sky show, producing about 15 or 20 shooting stars an hour, but it historically has produced bright fireballs that blaze across the sky and leave dust trails that last for several seconds, according to NASA. Fireballs can be bright enough to penetrate bright moonlight.

The Lyrids can fire off a surprise, with counts of as many as 100 shooting stars an hour, according to NASA. Sightings of these heavier showers occurred in Virginia in 1803, in Greece in 1922, Japan in 1945 and the United States in 1982.

As with most meteor showers, this one is best viewed in the early morning hours before dawn. Find a dark sky, take along a reclining lawn chair if you can and blankets to keep you warm. Although meteor showers do have radiant points — in this case, it’s in the constellation Lyra, close to Vega, one of the brightest stars in the night sky — you don’t have to locate it to see shooting stars, which will appear all over the sky.

• Related: 2024 Guide To Meteors, Solar Eclipse, Full Moons And Supermoons

The Lyrid meteor shower runs until April 29, intersecting with the Eta Aquariids, which offer a much better chance to see shooting stars. Sometimes called the Eta Aquarids, the meteor shower rambles along from April 15 to May 27, peaking around May 5-6, when the moon will appear about 14 percent full.

The Eta Aquariids have a broad peak, and that means skywatchers may see elevated numbers of meteors a few days before and after the peak. At the peak, about 30 meteors may be seen an hour, although as many as 60 an hour have been reported, according to NASA.

They’re known for speed, entering Earth’s atmosphere at about 148,000 miles an hour, and also for leaving glowing “trains” — incandescent bits of debris — that last for several seconds to minutes.