Lyrids Meteor Shower 2022 London: when is it, what time can I see shooting stars - and weather forecast

The Lyrids Meteor Shower 2022 is here, and is a chance for most people to witness something extraordinary happening in the sky.

Some people have dubbed this particular meteor shower as ‘celestial fireworks’ and many people around the UK are hoping the sky is clear to get an uninterrupted view of the meteor shower.

It’s something some people will only ever get the chance to see once in a lifetime, and people should take full advantage of this show in the sky.

When is the Lyrids meteor shower?

The Lyrids meteor shower is a meteor shower that lasts from 16 April to 25 April every year, with the peak usually occurring around 22 April.

During its peak, it’s predicted that up to 20 meteors per hour will shoot across the sky, which is a usual rate for most meteor showers.

This meteor shower is regarded as one of the oldest meteor showers of all time, and has been giving dazzling displays for around 2,700 years.

When was the most recent meteor shower?

According to Accuweather, before the Lyrid meteor showers, we are in somewhat of a drought and haven’t had a meteor shower since 2 January, 2022.

And, it was a pretty poor shower in terms of length, and only lasted a mere few hours, causing many to miss out on it.

It was called ‘Quadrantids’ and we haven’t had a meteor shower since.

Where is the best place to watch a meteor shower?

You can have the best viewing of a meteor shower somewhere that’s out of the hustle and bustle of the city, and any parks that are open late into the night are considered the best places to observe a meteor shower.

This is due to the lack of light pollution that would dim or even impede your view entirely of the meteor shower. It’s important to be somewhat just surrounded by complete darkness, so a big park with very little to no light is considered a good place to watch the shower.

When is the best time to see a shooting star?

According to some reports, the moon is going to be a problem this year, so that leaves a small window to see the display at its very best.

The bright moon is set to rise at 2am, and once it is above the horizon, experts say the moonlight will make it harder to view some of the dimmer meteors.

Due to this, the best and smallest window to view the meteors will be between midnight and 2am in the early hours of Friday morning on 22 April.

It will still be possible to view shooting stars after moonrise, but they are mostly visible in darker areas of the sky.

What is the weather report for tonight and the early hours of Friday morning?

Luckily for London, the good weather in the day will also lead into the night.

After the sun sets at around 8:07pm, the sky will remain clear as it descends into darkness, and will remain clear for the rest of the night.

As the clock strikes midnight and we enter the best time frame to watch the meteor shower, the sky will remain clear, ensuring an unrestricted view of shooting stars.

At 2am, when the moonrises, the sky will still be clear, and it will only get cloudy at around 3am on Friday morning.