The Lyrida meteor shower will reach its maximum activity on the night of April 23

The peak activity of the Lyrida meteor shower is expected on the night of April 23. Astronomers predict up to 18 "shooting stars" per hour, the press service of the Moscow Planetarium told TASS.

"The Lyrida meteor shower is activated from April 14 to April 25. The peak will be on April 22-23. According to the forecasts of the International Meteor Organization, up to 18 meteors per hour are expected," the planetarium said.

The Lyrid radiant will be located on the border of the constellations Lyra and Hercules. It is expected that the speed of meteors will reach 49 km/s.

"Since the constellation Lyra rises high above the horizon in spring around 05:00 Moscow time, it is best to make observations in the second half of the night, in the morning. In clear weather, meteors are best seen from the Northern Hemisphere, where the Lyrid radiant is high in the sky at dawn," the astronomers also clarified.

The Lyrid stream was formed by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. The history of his observations has 2.5 thousand years. Previously, he was much more active: On April 20, 1803, over the east coast of the United States, the number of meteors flying through the sky reached 700 per hour.