WATCH LIVE: Spectacular meteor shower TONIGHT will light up night sky over planet Earth #CarryGobySeanKellz #FutureGroupNG via @i_amreginaldjr

THE most spectacular meteor shower of the year so far will see shooting stars 'fall like rain' from the skies high above Earth tonight.

Watch the meteor shower live on this page tonight[GETTY]

The Lyrids Meteor Shower will reach its peak at about 3am in the northern hemisphere as up to 200 meteors per hour slam into our atmosphere.

Cloudy skies and a bright moon will make it almost impossible to see with the naked eye, but keen stargazers can watch RIGHT HERE on our live stream below.

The best time to see the Lyrids meteor shower live will be midnight until dawn on the morning of April 22

NASA spokesman

We've teamed up with community observatory Slooh and NASA to bring you live coverage of the phenomenon, which has been caused by Earth crossing the path of Comet Thatcher.

In an awesome display of nature's raw power, the meteors will burn up as they enter earth's atmosphere at 110,000 miles per hour.

Around 10 to 15 meteors per hour will be visible as shooting stars streaking across the night sky, but at the peak of the shower that number could be far higher.

Experts say a spectacular Lyrids outburst, like this one, is possible tonight [NASA]

A NASA spokesman said: "The best viewing will be midnight until dawn on the morning of April 22, provided you have clear, dark skies away from city lights.

"Northern Hemisphere observers will have a better show than those in the Southern Hemisphere."

Viewing is expected to be hampered tonight by a waning gibbous moon, which will partially obscure the shower.

The meteor shower could see 200 shooting stars an hour in the night sky [NASA]

Experts from astronomy website EarthSky agree a spectacular display is unlikely because of the moon, but refused to rule it out.
A spokesman said: "Meteor showers are notorious for defying the most careful predictions.

"The Lyrids stand as no exception. An outburst of Lyrid meteors is always a possibility."

 

Meteors are born from the remains of comets and broken asteroids.
When gravity pulls comets come around our sun they leave a dusty trail behind them.
Every year the Earth passes through this cosmic trash - which allows the remnants to collide with our atmosphere where they disintegrate and create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.

The pieces of space debris that cause this meteor shower originate from comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered on 5 April 1861 by American astromomer A. E. Thatcher.

The best place to watch the meteor shower in the UK is right here on THIS page [GETTY]

Ron Hipschman, a scientist at the San Francisco Science Museum, said the meteor shower is a perfect opportunity to remind people that our planet is itself made of meteor dust.

He said: "The ground we stand on is simply a larger piece of that same material.

"People like to 'pet' meteorites on display in universities and museums and always seem amazed that they came from space.

"What they didn't realise is that they are standing on a similar rock, in space!"

The Lyrids were first spotted in 687 BC by Chinese astronomers who recorded stars that "fell like rain".