The Lyrids: Ancient meteor shower set to peak

The oldest meteor shower on record is set to peak early Friday morning as the Lyrids shine overhead.

Between 10 to 20 meteors an hour are to be expected although many will be too dim to spot and lost in the moonlight. If you miss the peak, or if too many clouds are present, no worries! You can still catch a few of the shooting stars in the coming nights. Best viewing is before dawn and allowing your eyes to adjust to the dark.

Despite being known as shooting stars they are nothing more than tiny pieces of material left in the wake of certain celestial bodies, such as asteroids and comets.

These objects move extremely fast at around 120,000 mph and you may be shocked to know that an estimated 25 million meteoroids enter the atmosphere each day but are far too tiny to make any impact.

The high speeds cause the meteor's surface to reach temperatures of up to 1600C and glow brightly. This is what we see as a brief streak of light in the sky.

Most meteors are so small that they burn up long before they hit the Earth's surface. But occasionally one comes through and the remains land on Earth and are called a meteorite.

The Lyrid meteor shower is associated with the long-lived comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. In fact, it is the oldest recorded meteor shower still visible today, first recorded in 687 BC.

The Lyrids will be visible across the sky, but if you follow their path backward, it will look like they are coming from the constellation Lyren, which contains the star Vega.

Be sure to check the WeatherRadar to see current and expected cloud cover and find a perfect opening to head out under the stars.