• And so it begins! The Lyrid meteor shower is expected to produce the most meteors in the wee hours after midnight and before dawn on Monday, April 22. Only one problem: there's not much - if any - moon-free time between moonset and dawn these next few mornings.
• No matter where you live worldwide, it's likely the most Lyrid meteors will fly

during the dark hour before dawn. That's when the radiant point of the shower - in the constellation Lyra the Harp - will be highest in the sky. Tomorrow morning, find a place away from artificial lights and recline comfortably while looking in all parts of the sky.
• The Lyrids are usually a modest shower, featuring 10 to 20 meteors per hour. About one quarter of these swift Lyrid meteors exhibit persistent trains - ionized gas trails that glow for a few seconds after the meteor has passed. The Lyrids aren't an altogether predictable shower, though, and in rare instances can bombard the sky with up to nearly 100 meteors per hour.
• Lyrid meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Lyra, near the star Vega. But the meteors burn up in the atmosphere about 100 kilometers - or 60 miles - up. Vega lies trillions of times farther away at 25 light-years.
• Bottom line: The best time to watch 2013 Lyrid meteor shower is between moonset and dawn. The best viewing for the Lyrid shower will be about 3 a.m. until dawn on Monday morning - the morning of April 22. Go someplace where it's really dark (no city lights). Just lie back comfortably and gaze in all parts of the sky.
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