By Alexander Merz · Updated on · Details checked on 7 October 2026
📅 Lyrids: peak on the night of April 22–23, 2027 – unfortunately under an almost full Moon. Every meteor shower with its Moon rating: meteor shower calendar 2026/2027.
Every April the northern sky comes quietly alive. To catch a few shooting stars you’ll need patience and a trained eye, because most spring showers are faint. Only one is truly worth staying up for: the Lyrids, an ancient meteor shower that crosses Earth’s orbit each year and delivers a small “wish rain” before sunrise.
⚡ The quick answer: The Lyrids are the only meteor shower in April that’s genuinely worth watching from the Northern Hemisphere. The peak falls on the night of April 22–23 – in 2027 at 01:40 UTC – with around 18 meteors per hour under a dark sky (IMO forecast for 2027). One catch: in 2027 the Moon is full on April 20 and still about 96 % lit on peak night. They radiate from the constellation Lyra and come from Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1). Every other April shower is too weak (fewer than 3 to 5 meteors per hour) to justify a night outdoors.
April’s faint meteor showers
April hosts several meteor showers, but nearly all of them stay dim. Between late March (March 31) and April 2, the Tau Draconids streak across the northern sky. Radiating from the constellation Draco, this shower fades almost unnoticed: even at maximum, its rate stays below 3 meteors per hour. Its parent body is the short-period comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner.
From the radiant in the constellation Virgo swarm the April Virginids (peak April 7–8), the Alpha Virginids (peak April 14–15) and the Gamma Virginids (peak April 14–15). Even where their rates overlap, they rarely top 3 meteors per hour, so the odds of catching one stay slim.
Lower on the northern horizon, looking toward the ecliptic, the Librids glow from the constellation Libra. They’re a little easier to spot because they have several peaks in April, the strongest on the night of April 17–18. Also near the ecliptic, from the constellation Pisces, the April Piscids appear mostly by day (most likely April 20–21) and go largely unseen. Finally, the April Ursids (peak April 19–20) emerge from the Little Bear with a rate of at most 2 to 3 meteors per hour.
The Lyrids: an ancient meteor shower
As early as 687 BC, observers in China described a “star rain” coming from the constellation Lyra in the northern sky. That makes the Lyrids one of the oldest documented meteor showers in history. The display is more modest today, but the shower shows up faithfully every year.
The Lyrids can still surprise you. The most recent outbursts came in 1922 (100 meteors per hour) and 1982 (90 meteors per hour). In a typical year, the peak occurs on the night of April 21–22, delivering 15 to 20 shooting stars per hour under a dark sky.
Where do the Lyrids come from?
The trail of dust that Earth plows through each year was left behind by Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1) during its long orbit around the Sun, which takes roughly 415 years. When these tiny particles slam into the atmosphere at high speed, they burn up in a flash: that streak is the meteor you see. The radiant, the point the meteors seem to stream from, sits near the star Vega in Lyra.
When and where to watch the Lyrids in 2027
The peak falls on the night of April 22–23, 2027, at 01:40 UTC. In a normal year the second half of the night is the better one, because that is when the radiant climbs high.
In 2027 that is exactly the problem: the Moon, full on April 20, rises late in the evening and washes out the rest of the night. That leaves two windows, both compromises. Before moonrise the sky is dark but the radiant sits low – those are the earthgrazers, few in number but very long. After midnight the radiant is high and the Moon erases everything but the brightest trails.
Pick a spot far from city lights, give your eyes at least 20 minutes to adapt to the dark, and look toward the northeast with your back to the Moon. No equipment is needed: the meteors sweep across broad swaths of sky.
| Shower | Peak | Hourly rate | Visibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tau Draconids | Mar 31 – Apr 2 | < 3/hr | Very low |
| April Virginids | Apr 7–8 | < 3/hr | Low |
| Librids | Apr 17–18 | A few | Moderate |
| Lyrids | Apr 22–23 | ~18/hr | Good (Moon interferes in 2027) |
| April Ursids | Apr 19–20 | 2 – 3/hr | Very low |
What gear do you need to watch shooting stars?
For meteors, your naked eye is still the best tool, since it takes in the whole sky. A pair of binoculars won’t catch the meteors themselves, but it turns the wait into a proper sky tour: Vega, the Milky Way, star clusters and more. A solid 10×50 pair is light, bright and perfect for filling the gaps between streaks.
A telescope, on the other hand, is the wrong tool for meteors: it narrows your field of view and makes you miss them. If astronomy grabs you anyway, our beginner’s buying guide explains without any sales pressure which instrument actually suits you.
For the wait between meteors: Omegon Brightsky 10x50 Binoculars
Bright, high-contrast binoculars: perfect for the Moon, star clusters and Milky Way fields, handheld.
Price: € 289
For finding your way: Oculum Swivelling Sky Map 29 cm
Set date and time, hold it up, find the constellations: the swivelling star chart shows exactly the sky above you at that moment. No battery, no signal, no screen glare.
Price: € 19.90
* Affiliate link: if you buy through this link we may earn a small commission from Astroshop or High Point Scientific, at no extra cost to you.
Frequently asked questions about the Lyrids
When do the Lyrids peak in 2027?
The peak falls on the night of April 22–23, 2027, at 01:40 UTC. In a normal year the best window runs from midnight until dawn, when the radiant in Lyra rides high; in 2027 the Moon pushes you toward the earlier evening instead.
How many shooting stars per hour can you see?
The IMO forecast for 2027 gives a ZHR of 18 – that is roughly 18 meteors per hour under an ideally dark sky with the radiant overhead. In practice you will see fewer, and clearly fewer in 2027 because of the Moon. In some years the Lyrids have produced real outbursts, up to 100 per hour back in 1922.
Does the Moon interfere with the Lyrids in 2027?
Yes, considerably. Full Moon falls on April 20, so on peak night the Moon is still about 96 % lit and rises late in the evening. Use the dark evening hours before it comes up, even though the radiant is still low then.
Where does the name “Lyrids” come from?
The name comes from the constellation Lyra, which is home to the radiant, the point in the sky the meteors all seem to shoot out from.
Do you need a telescope to see the Lyrids?
No. A telescope narrows the field of view too much. Your naked eye is ideal; binoculars are mainly for enjoying the rest of the sky between meteors.
Are there other shooting stars in April?
Yes, but they’re faint: the Tau Draconids, April Virginids, Librids and April Ursids all stay below 3 to 5 meteors per hour. The Lyrids are by far the best shower of the month.
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