Remember how all the major meteor showers in late 2011 were drowned in bright moonlight? It was fun to see meteors streaking along in the moonlight, but... alright, already. Let's have a moonless meteor night! In fact, the next major meteor shower in 2012 - the Lyrid shower in April - will be virtually moon-free. Mark your calendar for the best night - the evening of April 21 until dawn April 22, 2012. The nights before and after might also feature some Lyrid meteors.
About 10 - 20 meteors per hour at peak can be expected. Plus, the Lyrids are known for uncommon surges that can sometimes bring the rate up to 100 per hour. Those are outbursts are not easy to predict, but they're one of the reasons the tantalizing Lyrids are worth checking out. The radiant for this shower is in the constellation Lyra, which rises in the northeast at about 10pm. Fortunately, in 2012, the new moon guarantees a dark sky in the late night and morning hours, the best time to watch the Lyrid shower. As a general rule, the greatest number of Lyrid meteors fall in the dark hours before dawn.
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