Lyrid Meteor Shower reaches its peak

The Lyrid Meteor Shower, active between April 16-25 every year, is expected to peak on Wednesday with stay at home Cypriots able to catch the meteor shower late in the evening.

Named after constellation Lyra, the Lyrids are one of the oldest recorded meteor showers; according to some historical Chinese texts, the shower was seen over 2,500 years ago.

They blaze through the sky at about 50km per second.

Chairman of the Cyprus Astrological Company, Chrysanthos Fakas, said the shower will be visible throughout Cyprus as we will have a new moon in the next few days, therefore the sky will be moonless, making the Lyrid Meteor Shower more visible.

He urged people to see the phenomenon from their balconies after turning all the lights off.

The Lyrid Meteor Shower, said Fakas, is a beautiful phenomenon and marks springtime in the astronomy calendar.

The fireballs in the meteor shower are created by debris from comet Thatcher, which takes about 415 years to orbit around the Sun. The comet is expected to be visible from Earth again in 2276.