It has been several months since sky gazers had the chance to see a meteor shower but the Lyrid meteor shower will kick off the start of meteor season this spring.
Skies around north Florida will be mostly clear when the show peaks Thursday night into Friday morning. The bright moon may pose more of a viewing problem. Moonrise is set around 2 a.m. local time which will make it challenging to see some of the dimmer meteors above.
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There hasn’t been a meteor shower to light up the sky since this winter’s Quadrantids, which peaked more than three months ago on Jan. 2.
Up to 20 meteors per hour are possible with the best viewing looking toward the NE sky in the early morning before the sun rises Friday.
The shower occurs this time each year when Earth’s orbit crosses paths with that of Comet Thatcher. The comet loses pieces of itself that go flying into our upper atmosphere at 110,000 miles per hour.
Lyrid gets its name from the Lyra constellation. The Lyrid shower is one of the oldest known, with records of visible meteors going back 2,700 years, according to EarthSky.
If you live in an urban area, you may want to drive to a place that isn't littered with city lights that will obstruct your view.
Find an open area with a wide view of the sky. Make sure you have a chair or blanket so you can look straight up. And give your eyes about 20 to 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness -- without looking at your phone -- so meteors are easier to spot.