Dark moonless skies this week promise to usher in perfect viewing conditions for the annual Lyrid meteor shower. The shower should peak in the dark hours before dawn on Wednesday, just in time to kick off Earth Day, with a repeat performance late Wednesday night and into the following morning.

Sky-watchers could see as many as 15 to 20 shooting stars per hour zip across the night sky in darker locales. With a chance of occasional bursts of extra activity, this show is definitely worth watching.

Meteors pelt Earth whenever it passes through a particularly dense part of the stream of debris left behind by a comet—like bugs hitting the windshield of a fast-moving car.

In the last century, on at least two