Enjoy Surges Of Up To 100 Meteors Per Hour During The 2020 Lyrid Meteor Shower Over New Jersey This April

New Jersey’s best and brightest meteor showers are the Geminids and the Quadrantids. You can regularly spot up to 100 meteors per hour under the right viewing conditions – clear, dark skies. Unfortunately, both astronomical events take place in the winter. The Geminids are best viewed after midnight between December 7 and 17 and can produce up to 120 meteors per hour. The Quadrantids peak during the first week of January and can produce over 100 meteors per hour.

The Perseid Meteor Shower is probably one of the Garden State’s most popular, peaking in the summer months. Viewers can enjoy 60 or more meteors per hour, making it New Jersey’s third-brightest meteor shower. But, if you can’t wait until August, you can still enjoy a great show in the sky from April 16-25.

The Lyrid Meteor Shower will peak between April 22-23.

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It reliably produces 20+ meteors per hour, zipping through the sky.

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HOWEVER, the Lyrid Meteor Shower is famous for its outbursts.

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During an outburst, over 100 meteors per hour can be spotted.

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The most recent outburst of this magnitude was in 1982, though an outburst of nearly 40 meteors per hour was documented in 2012.

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Whether there’s an outburst or not, we’re in for a good show. A relatively new moon will mean dark skies, ideal for viewing.

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Though these meteors can be spotted across the sky, look toward the constellation Lyra for the most action. The best viewing time is after midnight. Fun fact – around a quarter of Lyrid meteors leave “persistent trains.” A meteor train is an ionized gas trail that glows for several seconds after the meteor has passed.