article_snippet.sent: It was the first time I had seen the Lyrid meteor shower
article_snippet.sent: The Lyrids are so-called because The Lyrids occur in the constellation Lyra.
article_snippet.sent: The Lyrid meteor shower -
article_snippet.sent: In general, the Lyrids usually peak at ten meteors per hour but one of these unpredictable bursts could mean that you’ll see anywhere up to 100 meteors per hour. '
article_snippet.sent: the Lyrids are active through to 25 April, although activity would have weakened by then, but the Lyrids is possible to catch stray meteors over the next few nights. '
article_snippet.sent: Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1) is the source of the Lyrid meteors. '
article_snippet.sent: Earth crosses the orbital path of the comet and bits of rock and ice that Thatcher sheds smash into our planet’s upper atmosphere at around 110,000 mph (177,000 km/h). '
article_snippet.sent: the Lyrids the Lyrids occur when Earth passes through debris left by Comet Thatcher, which orbits the solar system every 415 years.
article_snippet.sent: Dr Radmila Topalovic, an astronomer from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in London, added: 'The best place to see the Lyrids is to find an open field where you can see the whole of the sky.