Flashes from earliest known meteor shower to dazzle UK skies

A meteor shower which was first recorded almost 3,000 years ago is now lighting up the UK skies.

The Lyrid meteor shower, associated with the ancient Comet Thatcher, is on its annual path over the UK and should peak on 22 April.

It's the result of the Earth passing through dust left behind by the comet and was first documented by Chinese astronomers in 687 BCE.

You can expect 10 to 15 meteors an hour but with surges that can occasionally deliver up to 100 per hour.

Named after the constellation of Lyra from where the meteors appear to originate, the distinctive features of the Lyrids are their colours and brightness - along with exceptionally bright fireballs from time to time, outshining the planet Venus.

The colours are created by very small dust particles - no bigger than a grain of sand - interacting with the particles and ions in Earth's atmosphere. The light this interaction creates is what we can see as the grains heat up and ionise. The trail is produced as the meteor cools and fades.

Fireballs are made when larger pieces of debris, external - more like the size of a grape or an acorn - pass though the atmosphere. As they are so much bigger when they heat up they create a flash and a line, often called a train, behind them.

Comet Thatcher takes 415 years to complete its orbit of the Sun and won't be visible again until 2283. Fortunately though the meteor shower is an annual event.

The Lyrids are not the only meteor shower to visit our skies in April.

The Eta Aquarids will also be active between 9 April to 28 May, with the peak in the early hours of 6 May 2026. The average rate is around 40 an hour.

They are named after a star called Eta Aquarii in the Aquarius constellation, which is the point from which it appears to originate and created from the trail of the Comet 1P/Halley.

It takes considerably less time than Comet Thatcher to compete its solar orbit - between 75-76 years.

Halley is one of the most well known and best studied by scientists. In 1986 it passed very close to Earth and space agencies sent multiple missions to view it.

It also features in the Bayeux Tapestry which illustrates events leading up to the Norman invasion in 1066 and at the time was seen as a bad omen for England.

The comet will be back again in 2061 but in the meantime we can enjoy the bi-annual meteor showers as its dust particles create passing through the Earth's atmosphere, not only giving us the Eta Aquarids in April but also the Orionids in October.

Widely across the UK there'll be clear skies from Saturday evening through to Sunday morning.

High pressure will keep most of the UK dry and settled into the start of the new week but there may well be more cloud and a few showers towards eastern areas with an onshore wind. Central and western parts will see the clearest skies by night.

You can always find out the forecast where you are by checking BBC Weather online or the BBC Weather App.