Last Chance to Catch Lyrid Meteor Shower 2013: Where and When to Watch

The Lyrid meteor shower 2013 peak was Monday, but you can still catch the stars streaking across the universe.

The shower is supposed to last through April 25, or Thursday.

"While the meteor rates officially spike in the predawn hours of April 22, observers can catch Lyrid stragglers streaking across the night sky from April 16 through April 25," according to a National Geographic report.

Sign up for Ankeny Patch's free newsletter | Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter

While the skies have been overcast, they should be clearing later tonight, according to a clear sky chart shared by The Des Moines Astronomical Society and Ashton Observatory.

The skies have been largely empty of visible meteor showers since the Quadrantids of early January, but the shooting stars of the Lyrids have been a reliable spectacle for, oh, 2,600 years or so.

The National Weather Service forecast for Ankeny this week calls for mostly clear skies, although a chance of rain in the evening on Wednesday.

You can see what to look for in this video of the Lyrid meteor shower. Or check out photos of the Lyrids. And these charts of the Lyrids may help you locate the shooting stars.

The Lyrids tend to be bright and often leave trails and tend to peak at about 10-20 meteors per hour. One of the unpredictable aspects of this shower, though, is that it’s known for uncommon surges that sometimes result in up to 100 shooting stars per hour.

A downside certainly exists this year: The moon will be bright until a couple of hours before dawn. Still, the greatest number of shooting stars tend to come after the moon departs anyway, so the show could still make getting up early worth it.

From where in the area do you sky watch?  Tell us in the comments section below.