Fireballs from ancient comet spotted in 1861 to soar across sky tonight – how to see stunning meteor display

 

AN ANCIENT spray of meteors is set to grace the skies tonight.

The Lyrid meteor shower is among the oldest known to humankind, and should peak in visibility in the pre-dawn hours of April 23.

This snap of a previous Lyrid meteor shower was taken in RussiaReuters

There is typically good chance of spotting the display in April.

However, this April is expected to have better visibility than usual.

The Lyrid involves fast-moving meteors that lack persistent trails.

Onlookers should be able to see a few shooting stars on the morning before and after the peak.

Although the medium-strength meteor shower that can produce up to 20 meteors per hour.

Occasionally star gazers will be able to spot very bright meteors that stand out from the rest.

According to Nasa, the first recorded Lyrid sighting occurred in China around 2,700 years ago.

To see them for yourself, head to a location well away from light pollution.

Make sure that your star gazing spot has an unobstructed view of the horizon and above.

Away from treelines or cityscapes is best.

Having a pair of binoculars to hand can never hurt, either.

“You’ll see the most meteors by looking slightly away from the origin point, which is near the bright star Vega,” Nasa said.

To find Vega, it might help to download an astronomy app for star gazers which shows where each constellation sits in the sky.

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