April Meteor Shower
The Next Meteor Shower of 2009 is the Lyrids. MeteorBlog will be covering three meteor showers for April:
Lyrids Meteor Shower
Start Date: April 16
Peak Date: April 22
End Date: April 25
π-Puppids Meteor Shower
Start Date: April 15
Peak Date: April 23
End Date: April 28
η-Aquarids Meteor Shower
Start Date: April 19
Peak Date: May 6
End Date: May 28
We will be especially focusing on the Lyrids Meteor Shower because we feel it will produce the best viewing results for the month of April. Bookmark the site for meteor facts and updates.
-Meteor Mark
on Mar 30th, 2009 at 1:11 am
If I am in Arizona and want to see one of the meteor showers when will be the best time and day to do that?
on Mar 30th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Cina,
In the upper right hand corner of this site is a tab for:
Meteor Shower Viewing
All the information you may need is on that page. However, if you have additional questions, feel free to ask.
- Meteor Mark
Meteor Shower
on Apr 3rd, 2009 at 1:08 pm
On April 2nd around 9:30 pm in Southwestern New Hampshire I saw a very bright ball of light with a fading tail (bigger than a typical shooting star) streak briefly across the sky. I was in my car and saw it through the top part of the windshield. Just wondering if anyone else saw anything around that time.
on Apr 5th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
On April 3rd, 2009 around 11:20 pm outside of Houston, Texas, I saw a meteor-a bright fireball with a bright tail going west towards Houston. It was flying horizontally not vertically, so maybe it is possible it was the same one Linda in New Hampshire saw? I dont know the life span of these things nor whether or not they fly around for days before landing, but I do know what I saw.
There is no doubt on what I saw as I was outside with my horses looking at the moon. I have been searching on the web whether any one else saw it and have not come across anything. If anyone saw anything or heard of any reports please let me know.
on Apr 5th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Rose,
Thank you for your comment. I doubt you saw the same object Linda in New Hampshire saw. You may have both seen a fireball or bolide. You can check the glossary on this site for more information. Depending on the path of the object entering Earth’s atmosphere is how it will appear to travel in the sky. Some may appear to streak down or streak across the sky. It all depends on trajectory. Hopefully someone else saw what you saw too and post it here.
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 7th, 2009 at 5:31 am
Can i see it any where in the sky or you must be in a certain place. Because i live in Georgia and i want to see one so bad.
on Apr 7th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Christelle,
Keep this site bookmarked, I am in the processs of writing a good article for this shower. It will be on the site soon. To answer your question, the answer is yes, you will be able to view this shower in Georgia, USA.
- Meteor Mark
April Meteor Shower – Lyrids
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 12:58 am
I live in west TX and tonight I saw a bright green something streak across the sky towards the west. This past Saturday night I saw a short lived one go west in the general vicinity of where I saw the one tonight. this past Friday night I saw a very bright orange streak across the sky heading west and it was in the same area as the others. The one tonight startled me because it was so bright and green.
I didn’t realize there were any meteor showers this month till I came across your website.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 1:06 am
Sandy,
Thanks for the comment from Texas! Stay tuned bookmark the site, I will be writing a new post soon about the Lyrids Meteor Shower. There are some cool facts associated with it. Meteor activity gets better and better in the months to come!
Stay tuned,
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Sandy,
I saw a similar meteor last night, too. It was west of San Antonio. I was really concerned about it because of the size, green color and how bright it was. I thought it was either a meteor or a plane coming down–I’ve never seen anything like it. Glad to know I wasn’t seeing things!
Donna
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Donna,
As long as it was a fireball and not little green teddy bears in the sky, it’s okay!
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Thanks Donna. I live NW of you in Midland. It was big, wasn’t it? I’ve never seen anything like that before either. I live out in the country and there no street lights or anything so I get a great view of miles and miles of TX night skies.
Mark I have it bookmarked, thanks.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
I was driving on April 7th in West Texas on near Big Spring and saw the same meteor. Definitely the largest fireball that I have ever seen. The color (green) of the meteor stood out as well as the pieces falling off of it. It was one of the coolest things I have seen.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Hans,
Thanks for the comment from Texas! The color green could have meant that the meteor or fireball was partly composed of magnesium. Sounds really cool, thanks for the post!
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 9th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
We live near the beach in Jacksonville, FL and I saw the same “green” fireball the evening of April 7. Amazing. Can’t wait to see more!
on Apr 11th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Hello, i was wondering, you mentioned 3 dates for the Lyrids meteor shower. I live in Miami, FL, which date is the best one to see the best shower and what time is best for us Floridians? Thank you!
on Apr 11th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Yesenia,
Lyrids Meteor Shower
Start Date: April 16
Peak Date: April 22
End Date: April 25
The most meteors are seen closest to the peak date. The Lyrids is better viewed for those in the northern hemisphere (Florida lies is in the northern hemisphere of Earth). Check out this page: Meteor Shower Viewing
Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 11th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Saw a large meteor in the North over Perth Australia at 7pm local time last night very bright and “smoke” was visible as it burnt up.
on Apr 11th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Thank you Mark! now i have a slight confusion… is it April 22 midnight going into April 23? or is it April 21 midnight going into April 22?
on Apr 11th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
This is a clock showing Universal Time
The shower will peak at 6AM Eastern Standard Time on April 22nd so watching from 12:01 AM until dawn on April 22nd (Wednesday morning) should give you the best views. You should be able to see about 15 to 20 meteors an hour, in the coming months there are some showers that produce better results up to 80 an hour, but this is the 1st major meteor shower of the second quarter of the year.
I hope this helps you understand. I should add that generally most meteor showers are best viewed after midnight and before dawn.
Keep your head up!
-Meteor Mark
P.S. Have you check out the MeteorBlog shop? – ENTER HERE
on Apr 11th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Yesenia,
its April 21 11:59pm going into April 22 12am
hope i helped, if thats the info you were looking for lol
on Apr 11th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Sweet! thank you Mark and Richard!! =))
on Apr 11th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Yesenia,
I like Richard’s answer better than mine. Please report back to me about what you saw on the 22nd!
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 12th, 2009 at 7:50 am
Will do Meteor Mark! and thanks for everything! =)
on Apr 17th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
I seen 4 meteors drop on my way home tonight in NJ on the parkway south by exit 120-exit 114!!!
on Apr 18th, 2009 at 5:29 am
Hi Metor Mark,
I saw a spectacular meteor in Cape Town on Friday morning, 17 April 2009 at about 01:00am South African time. Is there activity in Southern Africa at the moment and can we expect to view more in April. Quite new to this so please tell us more.
Wayne Keet
on Apr 18th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Wayne,
The Lyrids Meteor Shower will be most active in the morning on April 22, 2009. It will be visible for residents of Cape Town, South Africa as well as more northern hemisphere residents.
The constellation Lyra will be a little lower on your horizon then a person who lived farther north. This means you will less meteors per hour.
Have a look around this site and view some of the past articles, there is plenty of information here for everyone to to learn. That’s the fun part. If you have any questions, just comment anywhere and I will answer or direct you to one of the many articles here on meteorblog.com
You can use the search feature in the top right corner to guide you around, it is best to type 1 or 2 words in there (e.g. try typing “meteor colors” and see what comes up).
Lastly, bookmark the site and check in once in a while for each month’s meteor shower.
Thank you for your comment and keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 20th, 2009 at 7:44 am
This morning on my way to work about 6:45 central standard time between bells & sherman texas south of Hwy 82 I saw bright ball of fire falling to the ground. Awesome!!!
on Apr 21st, 2009 at 7:26 am
20 miles south of Houston Tx 6:30 am April 20, 2009 Saw one coming down from the East across freeway, Awesome……
on Apr 21st, 2009 at 11:55 am
Is it possible to spot the Lyrids Meteor Shower in San Francisco, California? Or anywhere in the Bay Area?
on Apr 21st, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Cbrewer I also saw the same meteor you did it was yesterday, April 20th, 2009. at about 6:45 am on my way to work here in San Antonio Texas. it was a meteor with a gorgeous long sparling tail streaking across the sky.
on Apr 21st, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Hello, I’ll keep it nice and simple…..
We live in Macclesfield cheshire,u.k, its an amzing clear warm night, and we have just witnessed 3 balls descending in size gradually fading across the sky! Magical.
on Apr 21st, 2009 at 3:27 pm
i’d like to point out about the forementioned it was actually 21:10 gmt approx we saw this happen.
on Apr 21st, 2009 at 10:07 pm
I really appreciate your web site, i was able to find the information i was looking for. I heard about a shower tonight and have gained interest into watching it tonight.
thanks
mike
on Apr 21st, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Mike,
You’re welcome. Please bookmark the site and check with us for the next meteor shower. The Lyrids is just the start of some great viewing activity to come.
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 4:03 am
The peak date for the Lyrid shower is April 22nd, however I will not be able to go to a dark place until tomorrow (April 23rd). Will I still be able to see the meteors?
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 4:16 am
Neal,
You should be able to see some. It’s usually best after midnight and before dawn. Bookmark the site, there is another meteor shower next month, I will be posting details soon.
- Meteor Mark
P.S. It is 100% overcast here and foggy so I will be observing April 23rd also.
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 9:15 am
April 22 between 6:30am & 8 We saw up to 4 meteors at a time in the sky zoming through the sky we saw a total of 14 in the texas skys.
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 11:09 am
Hey Meteor Mark!
Im back! lol
i saw nothing =’( i’ve been out since 12am-2am and only saw about 6 or 7 the max…. i was disappointed… there was one that i saw when i was little and it was a constant shower, it was visible and it was shooting by like 5 or 6 at a time every 3 seconds but i do not remember what time of year it was and what year… i know it wasn’t in 2000+ it was before the year 2000
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Yesenia,
The Lyrids are pretty modest, not a major shower, but mark the kickoff of better things to come, check back with me May 1st. I am researching now. The shower you are talking about may have been the Leonids of 2001
Meteor Mark
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Joyce,
For the Lyrids, you saw just about the expected amount of meteors. I saw zero it was 100% foggy/cloudy.
Bookmark the site and check back next month, I have some interesting meteor shower news.
Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Heading to work about 6:30am, I seen a bright light falling from the sky SW of East Texas. It looked very close. Mention to my husband and he had seen it also. We took it as a very different kind of falling star. So I was very excited when I found out today what we witness was the meteor showing. It was really awesome. I also seen this morning under a quarter of moon the same very bright light, but it was just under the moon. Very beautiful sight.
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Debra,
The shining light that you saw next to the crescent moon was the planet Venus. Thanks for the comment and bookmark the site, you will be pleasantly surprised by next month’s meteor shower!
Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Today in the morning i saw the moon and a very huge star right below it. It was creepingly amazing!!!!!!!!!
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Karen,
The creepy amazing star that you saw was not a star, it was the planet Venus which in fact was eclipsed by the moon. Venus and Jupiter will be prominent in morning skies for April.
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 8:56 pm
hey….i live in albuquerqu new mexico…..what time do you think willl be the best time to start watching?
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Shane,
Sorry but the peak for the Lyrids has passed.
You may want to bookmark the site and check back, there is a better shower in the beginning of May. If you really want to check out the Lyrids you may still see some activity April 23rd in the morning hours in any time zone.
Hope this helps, in the meantime, take a look at the page “Meteor Shower Viewing” you may find some of the tips there useful.
Keep your head up.
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Hi, I live in Atlanta, GA. What time is the best time to watch the meteor shower? I hear tonight is the peak of it and i would love to see..
Thanks
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Lizzy,
I would bookmark this site for the next meteor shower. Check back with me May 1st.
Sorry to tell you, the peak for the Lyrids meteor shower has passed.
Have a look at some of my recent posts and the page “Meteor Shower Viewing” there may still be some Lyrid Meteor Shower activity.
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 24th, 2009 at 6:29 am
On Wed evening 4/22/09, at about 10:15 PM eastern time, in central Virginia (near Lynchburg), my wife and I observed a large bright orange “fireball” meteor, slowly traveling from west to east in the southern sky (probably lasted about 2 seconds, without losing intensity – we lost sight of it behind trees and houses). We were in the car, on a secondary road with streetlights, and heading south. At first I didn’t know what it was, but then remembered from “Star Date” on PBS that the Lyrids were occurring.
on Apr 24th, 2009 at 6:32 am
Correction to my comment of April 24th – the meteor was traveling from east to west in the southern sky.
-Craig
on Apr 24th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Craig,
Awesome! Sounds cool, you’re lucky to see a fireball (a pretty rare occurrence) just for knowledge, fireballs and meteors don’t always have to be associated with a shower, occasionally they are called sporadic meteors or sporadic fireballs. You can use the search feature in the upper right hand corner of this site and search for “sporadic” there may be some articles with results.
Keep your head up! A better meteor shower is coming in May.
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 24th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
im in polo mo,when is the best time to see this
on Apr 24th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Vicky,
I am not sure I understand your question.
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 24th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
Is there a specific time that the Lyrids Meteor shower will end tonight, 4\259? Can I still see any before it ends? What part of the sky is it best viewed. Thank You .
on Apr 25th, 2009 at 12:05 am
Jana,
There were about 18-20 meteors seen per hour during the Lyrids Meteor Shower on their peak date which was 4/22 at 11:00 GMT. I dislike discouraging anyone from trying to take a look at a meteor shower, but I really don’t think there will be much activity. There are a few posts here at meteorblog that detail where to look.
I suggest bookmarking this site and check back with me on or before May 1st. I will be posting some information about the next meteor shower that could produce a full week of activity and outbursts of up to 85 meteors per hour!
Keep your head up,
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 25th, 2009 at 6:50 am
What was the “bright shooting star” seen in Sydney @ 19h20 25April09???
It did not look like a meteor as it it appeared to have “two tails”
on Apr 25th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Brian,
I have not heard anything about this event in Sydney, Australia I will look into it. Sounds like it could have been a bolide. Check our glossary on this site.
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 25th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
saw 3 followed by 1 latecomer when i took dog out in garden, around midnight 25/04/09, yorkshire, england lasted around minute before burning out. looked quite large yellow centre and could make red on top and bottom, had to run in house and get son to look so he would not miss it. very clear night tonight. what were these as very clear and large in comparison with stars.
on Apr 25th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Joanna,
Are you asking me what you saw? Sounds like you may have seen a 3 meteors and a fireball. Have a look at the glossary here on meteorblog.com it is located in the upper right hand corner of the page. By the way meteors are not stars, nor are fireballs. The term “shooting star” is a nickname. The glossary has a better description of meteor, have a look.
By the way, I have heard of any fireball sightings in Yorkshire on 25/04/09, yet.
Thanks for your comment.
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 25th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
the 4 ‘balls i saw were all same and all followed same path, they really stood out, have seen shooting stars and a shower couple of years ago, those all lasted in a blink of an eye, this you could watch, make out colours and watch burn out. thought it was planes at first as so large and clear compared to anything ive seen, not planes saw them burn out one by one 3 in a row followed by another 2 mins later, just glad i saw whatever it was
on Apr 26th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
My family & I were returning home around 11:00 PM last night (April 25th) when we saw a shooting meteor light in the eastern sky of Phoenix, Arizona. It was one of the largest I had seen. A thick short tail with a flat bowl shaped tip. It had a greenish blue glow.
Nice to know it was predicted and expected.
- Jeevan
on Apr 26th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Jeevan,
What do you mean by: “Nice to know it was predicted and expected.” ?
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 27th, 2009 at 3:09 am
We received several calls into our call center about a fireball or meteor in Flagstaff.. several locations, and when FAA was called, they said troopers in NM reported they saw it also and felt the ground vibrate when it hit… know anything about what this was and where it/they hit?
on Apr 27th, 2009 at 3:38 am
Susan,
I don’t claim to be an expert in Seismology, but as far as I know no tremors were not reported in New Mexico or Arizona on April 26th, again I am not a Seismologist at all so I really don’t know. There have been reports on this website of people describing a Fireball in the sky in the vicinity of Flagstaff, AZ.
There was a massive fireball in Canada last year that could be seen from 400+ miles away that did hit Earth, the largest meteorites found from monstrous blast were no larger than the size of a cantaloupe.
Meteors and even huge fireballs usually burn up before they strike the Earth.
I have been receiving a lot of inquiries about this event so i am keeping my eye out for any meteor news related to this event. So far I don’t have any evidence it did or didn’t strike the Earth.
I don’t think this one is going to wipe out the human race or anything. It just another fireball that was tamed by Earth’s natural shield (the atmosphere). I am glad nature has a good defense mechanism.
Keep your head up and if you find out anything, please let me know and I will do the same.
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 27th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Saw a bright green meteorite (we think) racing across the sky in the Florida Keys on April 25th around midnight. It came from north west to south east. watched it until it disappeared in the horizon – did not burn out while we were watching it.
It was large and bright – an amazing sight!!
on Apr 27th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Nancy,
Sounds brilliant. Bookmark meteorblog.com we have a meteor shower coming in May. There may be a ton of meteors!
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 28th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
This eveing, April 28, 2009 around 7:00 p.m. or so, in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona I saw a very bright yellow meteor with a long tail cross the eastern horizon and then disappear. It was scary because it looked like it was burning.
on Apr 28th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Cj,
This is the second report we had on the site tonight about an Arizona fireball.
If it exploded or broke apart, it was called a Bolide Fireball, take a look at the glossary on the site located in the upper right hand corner.
If I hear anything, I will post it on the site.
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 29th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Hey Meteor Mark, you asked me to come back on May 1st, is there somehting special going on again?
on Apr 29th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Yesterday evening, around 6:45 p.m. I saw a beautiful meteor falling across the eastern sky. It was visible until it went behind the mountains and was quite large and bright with a tail. I was hoping others had seen it. It is too beautiful a sight for just one person to see. And yes, I agree that it looked like it was buring.
on Apr 29th, 2009 at 10:52 am
I neglected to mention in my previous message that I live in Kearny, Arizona. The meteor I saw last night around 6:45 p.m. was falling to the East. It was somewhat scary but beautiful–something you expect to see only in the movies. So glad I had the opportunity to see such a beautiful sight.
on Apr 29th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Yesenia,
Yes there is. Go to the home page and read the last post: Next Meteor Shower May Be A Great One.
Martha,
Thank you for your post. Sounds like a fireball, there has been a few in the Arizona area over the last 5 days. Pretty cool!
- Meteor Mark
on Apr 29th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I too saw the, what looked to be a burning fireball in the sky in AZ. I was sitting out back of my Queen Creek home around 7:00pm. Not only did I see it but I also heard it which kinda freaked me out. It was pretty cool tho!! I was hoping someone else had seen this!!! It looked like a burning ball of fire, we could see the flames and all. My poor husbands leg is probably bruised cuz I was tryin to get him to look before it disappeared! lol It sounded like an airplane!!
on Apr 29th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I too saw the fireball in AZ last night at around 7 pm (I didn’t look at the time).
I was at a high school baseball game in Scottsdale (N. Phoenix) looking E and saw the meteor a little to the NE, falling at slight angle towards the NE. It was bright (I was seeing it through the field lights since I was looking through the outfield) and flickered and darted a little, turning greenish before disappearing. It lasted long enough that I poked the person standing next to me and he looked up and saw it too. It was the brightest one I have seen…
on Apr 29th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
yea!!! – i’m not the only one who saw this – I live in payson az and saw the most remarkable ball of fire in the east. – my 12 year old son saw it too – he thought it was a shooting star but there were no stars visable yet. – I have never seen anything like that ever before – what a great experience!
on Apr 29th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
There are more posts about the AZ fireball from last night (April 28) over on the “Fireball News” page (go to top of this page, upper right hand corner) so I’m going to post my earlier comment above over there where its probably more appropriate. Ifirst ended up on this page after googling “arizona meteor april 28″ and wound up here because of the couple earlier ones. Check them out over there!
on Apr 29th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Sean,
You are right! Thanks!
- Meteor Mark
on May 2nd, 2009 at 12:56 am
We were camping April 25 at Roosevelt Lake near windy hill and saw a fireball heading west. My friends saw it at least. I later confirmed it when we realized we got it on video. On the video you can even hear the loud boom when it hit. Seems like the meteor hit a couple of hilltops west of windy hill.
on May 2nd, 2009 at 12:58 am
Nate,
Sounds awesome! Try uploading it to youtube, and I will put it up on the site.
- Meteor Mark
on May 4th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Dear Meteor Mark-
Forgive my ignorance but I am going up to my New Mexico mountain cabin this evening to try to catch the meteor shower-what time in the early hours of 5-5-09 should I get up to watch them. Thank you!
on May 4th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Alethea,
Thanks for the question.
Check the page on MeteorBlog: Meteor Shower Viewing
There is some information there that will apply to this shower.
The shower peaks on May 6 at 0:00 Universal Time so viewing in the morning of May 5 and May 6 should be a good time, the darkest period of the morning before dawn is best.
- Meteor Mark
on May 13th, 2009 at 6:34 am
I have just returned from New Mexico.
While observing on April 22nd at Villanueva, I saw an unusually bright green fireball streaking across the northwestern sky, from Ursa Major to Gemini.
It was brighter than the full moon, and lit up the sky and ground with its green light for about 30 seconds. This was between 8:30pm and 9:00pm (Mountain Time).
Did anyone else see this?
- Roy
on Jun 28th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
How many meteors were seen on Sunday the 28th of June 2009 in Australia?
because ive looked on alot of websites and it is not there(it is not telling me the answer)
on Jun 28th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Rheoncz,
You responded to a May 23, 2009 post. But here is your answer for June 28th and most likely a guess. The answer is anywhere between 1 to 5 meteors an hour.
Check out some of the June posts and join me next month for more meteor details.
- Meteor Mark