People in the Northern Hemisphere, including Qatar, have a good chance of seeing the Lyrids meteor shower as it will illuminate the sky from this evening until dawn Tuesday, Qatar Calendar House (QCH) has said. In a statement Sunday, QCH astronomy expert Dr Beshir Marzouk said the Lyrids meteor shower - created by debris from Comet Thatcher - is usually active from April 16 to 25 every year, while its peak occurs from the evening of April 22 until the dawn of April 23. 
Lyrids is one of the important meteors showers seen from the Earth, with an average rate of 10-20 meteors per hour, according to experts.
Dr Marzouk said astronomical instruments are not required to observe the meteor shower and people in Qatar and other countries across the Northern Hemisphere can see Lyrids with the naked eye from places without light and environmental pollution (pure sky).
They need to look towards the eastern horizon of the sky from midnight on Monday until dawn Tuesday to observe the Lyrids meteor shower, he explained, adding that they could take nice photographs of the meteor shower with advanced digital cameras and should increase the exposure to get the best results.
However, the statement also points out that the moon will rise over the Qatar sky at 9.06pm Monday and the moonlight is likely to impact the viewing of the meteor shower this year.
The best time for observing Lyrids is from midnight until dawn, while the best location is a relatively dark area without light and environmental pollution.
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