I love meteor showers. I once was driving through the state of Colorado at night when the sky positively erupted with falling stars. I pulled my car over into a nearby cornfield, lay on top of the roof, and enjoyed God’s light show for over an hour before things calmed down again.

The Lyrid Meteor Shower will be observable in the sky this weekend. Although the Lyrids have not been particularly strong in recent years, they are notably unpredictable and can sometimes offer up a spectacular show.

SkyTonight.com offers the following facts about the Lyrids Meteor Shower:

The Lyrid meteor shower has been observed for more than 2,000 years; Chinese records say “stars fell like rain” during the shower of 687 BC … In 1982 the rate unexpectedly reached 90 for a single hour — and 180 to 300 per hour for a few minutes. A brief outburst of 100 per hour was also seen in 1922. And on April 20, 1803, residents of Richmond, Virginia, upon being rousted out of bed by a fire bell, were startled to see great numbers of meteors in all parts of the sky.”

In the United States the Lyrids are due to peak this year during the daylight hours at 6 p.m. EDT (22h Universal Time) on Sunday, April 22, but they can still be seen up to 15 hours before and after the peak. Your best time for viewing if you live in the U.S.? The early morning hours of Sunday April 22nd and Monday April 23rd.

Note: Sky & Telescope has an interactive sky chart where they show you the position of the stars in the sky for any date, time and viewing location on the planet.