Lyrid meteor shower to light up April sky: when best to watch it

AN annual meteor shower will provide some night sky entertainment this month.

The Lyrid meteor shower will run from April 16-25, peaking on the night of April 21 and the morning of April 22.

The best time to watch is between midnight and dawn and, with fingers crossed for a cloud-free sky, it should be quite a spectacular show.

The meteors enter the atmosphere and burn up around 60 miles above our heads. They are travelling at around 110,000 mph and around a quarter of them leave a trail behind them, creating quite a sight.

Meteors are small chunks of debris left in the wake of celestial objects, like asteroids or comets. When the Earth passes through this trail of material, it scoops up a number of these pieces which fall into the atmosphere.

To best view the astronomical phenomenon, be prepared with a sleeping bag, blanket or garden chair and lie as flat as you can taking in as much of the night sky as possible.

Be patient - it will take a little while to adjust your eyes to the night sky, but the shower should last until dawn so plenty of time to spot them, unless, of course, you fall asleep first...