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The Lyrid meteor shower is expected to dazzle the night sky beginning this week

Published

11 months ago

April 16, 2025

The Lyrid meteor shower is expected to dazzle the night sky beginning this week

(EDITORS NOTE: Multiple exposures were combined to produce this image.) Startrails are seen during the Lyrid meteor shower over Michaelskapelle on April 21, 2020 in Niederhollabrunn, Austria.

Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images Europe

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Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images Europe

The Lyrid meteor shower, one of the oldest annual meteor showers known to humankind, will once again grace Earth’s sky beginning this week.

This year, the meteors are expected to come into view on Wednesday night and last through April 25.

What exactly are the Lyrids?

The Lyrids, like all meteor showers, are the flying trails of debris left behind by comets, according to Bill Cooke, the lead of NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office. This shower is the litter of Comet Thatcher, first documented in 1861 by A.E. Thatcher.

“Thatcher left a debris trail that the Earth runs into the third week in April of every year, and that causes the shower when these bits of debris enter our atmosphere and burn up,” Cooke told NPR.

Amateur stargazers have come to know those pieces of incinerated detritus as shooting stars, darting meteors and fireballs.

Earthlings have been observing the Lyrids’ sky show for thousands of years, with the first recorded sighting in 687 B.C.

Thatcher is a relatively little-known comet that takes more than 400 years to orbit the sun, Cooke said. The last time it was in Earth’s line of sight was right around the start of the Civil War.

The comet itself will not enter Earth’s view again until the late 23rd century.

Coincidentally, the Lyrids will coincide with another shower, the Eta Aquariids, which is expected to begin on Friday and last through May 28th. That shower is expected to peak on May 5 and 6, according to the American Meteor Society.

How can I watch the meteor shower?

The peak of the Lyrid shower this year is expected around April 21 and 22, when the tail is at its peak.

Luckily, no special equipment is required to observe the shower’s brilliant lights. The main requirement is a clear, dark sky.

“You’re not going to see meteors from downtown Manhattan or Central Park,” Cooke said. “You need to find the darkest sky you can, you need to lay flat on your back and look away from the moon.”

Give yourself 30 to 45 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark, Cooke said — and from there, simply enjoy the show.

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Satellite images provide view inside Iran at war

Published

12 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Satellite images provide view inside Iran at war

Smoke rises over Konarak naval base in southern Iran on Sunday. The base was one of hundreds of targets of U.S. and Israeli forces throughout the country.

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Commercial satellite images are providing a unique look at the extent of damage being done to Iran’s military facilities across the country.

The U.S. and Israeli military campaign opened with a daytime attack that struck Iranian leadership in central Tehran. Smoke was still visible rising from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound following the attack that killed the supreme leader.

An image by the company Airbus taken on Saturday shows the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Iran’s Leadership House in central Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening wave of attacks.

Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026

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Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026

Israel and the U.S. have gone on to strike targets across the country. Reports on social media indicate that there have been numerous military bases and compounds attacked all over Iran, and Iran has responded with attacks throughout the Middle East.

U.S. forces have also been striking at Iran’s navy. In a post on his social media platform, President Trump said that he had been briefed that U.S. forces had sunk nine Iranian naval vessels. U.S. Central Command did not immediately confirm that number but it did say it had struck an Iranian warship in port.

An image captured on February 28 shows a ship burning at Iran's naval base at Konarak.

An image captured on Saturday shows a ship burning at Iran’s naval base at Konarak.

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Numerous satellite images show burning vessels at Konarak naval base in southern Iran. Images also show damage to a nearby airbase where hardened hangers were struck by precision munitions.

Hardened aircraft shelters at Konarak airbase were struck with precision munitions.

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And there was extensive damage at a drone base in the same area. Iran has launched numerous drones and missiles toward Israel and U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Many drones have been intercepted but videos on social media show that some have evaded air defenses and caused damage in nearby Gulf countries. In Dubai, debris from an Iranian drone damaged the iconic Burj Al Arab, according to a statement from Dubai’s government.

Buildings at an Iranian drone base at Konarak were destroyed in the strikes.

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Iran’s most powerful weapons are its long-range missiles. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have hidden the missiles deep inside mountain tunnels. Images taken Sunday in the mountains of northern Iran indicate that some of those tunnels were hit in a wave of strikes.

Following Khamenei’s death, Iran declared 40 days of mourning. Satellite images showed mourners gathering in Tehran’s Enghelab square on Sunday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told NPR on Sunday that Iran will continue to fight “foreign aggression, foreign domination.”

A White House official told NPR that Trump plans to talk to Iran’s interim leadership “eventually,” but that for now, U.S. operations continue in the region “unabated.”

A large crowd of mourners fill Enghelab Square in Tehran on Sunday, following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

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Video: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

Published

21 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Video: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

new video loaded: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

The first battle of the midterm elections will be the U.S. Senate primary in Texas. Our Texas bureau chief, David Goodman, explains why Democrats and Republicans across the U.S. are watching closely to see what happens in the state.

By J. David Goodman, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, June Kim and Luke Piotrowski

March 1, 2026

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Mass shooting at Austin, Texas bar leaves at least 3 dead, 14 wounded, authorities say

Published

24 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Mass shooting at Austin, Texas bar leaves at least 3 dead, 14 wounded, authorities say

Gunfire rang out at a bar in Austin, Texas, early Sunday and at least three people were killed, the city’s police chief said.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis told reporters the shooter was killed by officers at the scene.

Fourteen others were hospitalized and three were in critical condition, Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said.

“We received a call at 1:39 a.m. and within 57 seconds, the first paramedics and officers were on scene actively treating the patients,” Luckritz said.

There was no initial word on the shooter’s identity or motive.

An Austin police officer guards the scene on West 6th Street at West Avenue after a shooting on Sunday, March 1, 2026, in Austin, Texas.

Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP

Davis noted how fortunate it was that there was a heavy police presence in Austin’s entertainment district at the time, enabling officers to respond quickly as bars were closing.

“Officers immediately transitioned … and were faced with the individual with a gun,” Davis said. “Three of our officers returned fire, killing the suspect.”

She called the shooting a “tragic, tragic” incident.