April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, according to the well-known school yard rhyme. But there's a shower coming up this April that won't advance the cause of Spring one bit -- it's the Lyrid meteor shower. While the Lyrids may not encourage flowers to bloom, there will be a modest sky show on the morning of April 22 when 10 to 15 meteors per hour shoot out of the constellation Lyra.

Above: Artist Duane Hilton created this rendition of a Lyrid meteor streaking past the Moon over the Sawtooth Ridge near Mammoth, CA.

"Unfortunately there's going to be a nearly full moon this year on April 22nd," said Dr. Frank Six, an astronomer at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "That'll make it hard to see faint meteors. Still, it might be worth staying up for if you're an enthusiastic star gazer." [click here for observing tips]

Most meteor lovers would probably agree that the Lyrids merit watching simply because it's been so long since the last major shower. That was back in January 2000 when the Quadrantid meteor shower unleashed nearly 60 shooting stars per hour. Since then the meteor rate has been low.

Full Story: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast18apr_1m.htm