What better way to usher in the week of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day? 🌍 🌏 🌎⁣ ⁣ The Lyrid meteor shower began yesterday and will peak on April 22, Earth Day, during the predawn hours. Lyrids are known to produce bright fireballs and this year we are expecting rates of up to 15 meteors per hour.⁣ ⁣ The Lyrids are pieces of space debris that originate from the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. They are one of the oldest known meteor showers, having been observed for over 2,700 years. Their radiant, or point in the sky from which they appear and where they get their name, is in the constellation Lyra. 💫⁣ ⁣ nasa astronaut Don Pettit captured this image of a very probable Lyrid in a six-second exposure, taken on April 22, 2012 from the International Space Station (iss).⁣ ⁣ Learn more at blogs.nasa.gov⁣ ⁣ Image credit: NASA/JSC/D. Pettit⁣ ⁣ #EarthDayAtHome #EarthDay #LyridMeteorShower #meteor #stars #nasa