Living in a city with as many lights as Tokyo, it can be hard to spot stars in the night sky, but if you’ve never seen a meteor shower, you might want to consider trying to catch one this week. The Lyrid meteor shower, named after the constellation Lyra, occurs annually and is the first meteor shower visible from Earth after the Quadrantid shower in early January. The Lyrid meteor shower is also the earliest reported modern meteor shower, with records of it dating back to 687 BC.
While the meteor shower will last until April 30, it will reach its peak on the night of April 22-23. The peak of a meteor shower is when it produces the largest number of meteors – in the Lyrid's case, this is typically from 5 to 20 meteors per hour. The best time to see the Lyrid meteor shower is in the predawn hours (3am-5am in Japan), and the lack of moonlight this time of month will help make the passing meteors more visible.
To give yourself the best chance of spotting the meteors, sit in a dark, secluded place and avoid looking at your phone to let your eyes adjust to the night sky. You won't need any special equipment to spot the shower, just a fair amount of patience and maybe a blanket to keep you warm. If the area you live in is too bright, don’t worry – there’s another shower coming, known as the Eta Aquariids, that will reach peak visibility at the end of Golden Week on May 6.
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