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• There are several other interesting sights for small telescopes within the constellation Lyra. One is the star Epsilon Lyrae, just to the lower left of Vega on our chart. This is the famed double-double star, which means that in binoculars it appears as a double star, but each of those stars also appears as a double in a telescope. In other words, the single point we see with the eye as Epsilon Lyrae is at least four stars.
• Another interesting object is M57, the Ring Nebula, located between the Beta and Gamma stars of Lyra. These are the two stars farthest from Vega, to the lower right on the chart. M57 is roughly halfway between them, and appears as a faint ellipse - like a smoke

The radiant point for tonight's Lyrid meteor shower is near the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra. They rise in the northeast in late evening in April.

ring - in a telescope. It is a planetary nebula, the remant of a sun-like star that shed its outer layers and died.
• Since the shower's radiant point - the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to radiate - is fairly far north, by the way, these meteors are better seen from the Northern Hemisphere than from the southern part of Earth's globe. The best time to watch the 2013 Lyrids is after moonset and before dawn. Sometimes, the Lyrids can surprise you by producing several times the usual number of meteors - but you never know.
• Bottom line: In 2013, the Lyrid meteor shower peaks on the night of April 21-22. Before dawn April 22 is probably the best time to watch. You might also catch some Lyrid meteors on the night of April 22-23, 2013 as well. The moon will be in the way. The shower typically produces about 10-20 meteors per hour. See if you can find the star Vega, and its constellation Lyra the Harp. The meteors radiate from Lyra: hence their name.
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