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April Ignites the Night: Two Meteor Showers Are On the Way, and Here’s How to See Them

Get ready for the Lyrids and the Eta Aquariids, coming soon to a sky near you.

Get ready, skygazers. You can start marking your calendar for upcoming meteor showers, with April kicking off a much more active stretch for skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere. 

After a long lull at the start of the year — when the Quadrantids meteor shower peaked just after New Year’s, and little else followed — meteor activity is finally picking up again, bringing two showers into view as the month begins.

The first meteor shower is the Lyrids, which begins on April 14 and continues until the end of the month. This is a relatively minor meteor shower fed by the C/1861 G1 comet, also known as Thatcher after its discoverer, A.E. Thatcher, in 1861. It’s a long-period comet that takes 415.5 years to orbit the sun. 

The Lyrids meteor shower peaks on April 21-22 and will produce somewhere between 15 and 20 meteors per hour under optimal conditions. Per the American Meteor Society, the peak should occur on the evening of April 22, so if you can only make it out for one of the two nights, the second night is expected to be the better viewing experience. 

The second meteor shower starting in April is the Eta Aquariids. This meteor shower begins on April 19 and spans for over a month, wrapping up on May 28. This is the stronger of the two meteor showers with an expected peak of roughly 50 meteors per hour, depending on where you view them from. The Eta Aquariids shower is known for its fast meteors and persistent tails that stick around for a little longer after the meteor has disappeared. 

The 1P/Halley comet feeds it, the same one that feeds the Orionids meteor shower every October. Its peak should be May 5-6. The further south you are, the more meteors you can expect to see, and the opposite is true the further north you go. The best place to view this meteor shower is in the tropics.

How to see Lyrids and Eta Aquariids

Meteor showers come with a built-in trick for finding them. They are named for the constellations where the meteors appear to originate. This origin point, known as the radiant, is where you want to be looking. 

The Lyrids meteor shower originates from the Lyra constellation, which is close to the larger Hercules constellation. Both of them rise from the eastern sky shortly around 11 p.m. local time. It will then follow a similar trajectory to the sun, streaking overhead before setting in the west. Sunrise happens long before the constellations actually set, so if you’re waking up early to view these, you’ll want to look high in the western sky. 

The Eta Aquariids shower is more difficult to view. It originates from the Aquarius constellation, which spends most of the night of May 5-6 below the eastern horizon. The constellation rises around 3 a.m. local time and will only barely breach the horizon before sunrise a few hours later. If you go out to view the eta Aquariids, get up high and point yourself east. 

If you’re having trouble finding the constellations, your best bet is using a sky map app like StarWalk (Android and iOS) or using web tools like Stellarium’s Sky Map. Such tools can help you identify where the constellations will be. For meteor shower viewing, all you really need is the general direction, but there’s no harm in knowing how to find the constellation. 

Tips for viewing meteor showers

The advice for viewing meteor showers is the same, no matter how big or small the shower is. The single biggest advantage you can give yourself is getting as far away from light pollution as you can. This means leaving the city and the suburbs behind in favor of greener, dimmer pastures. 

The moon can significantly impact viewing. This won’t be a problem for Lyrids since the moon is expected to be about a quarter full during Lyrids’ peak. Eta Aquariids viewers aren’t so lucky since the moon will be about 80% full that night, which will cause significant light pollution. The American Meteor Society says that the shower’s peak may be up to 50 meteors per hour, but with the moon that close to full, people can expect closer to 10. 

Other than light pollution, the advice is pretty simple. Make sure to get out there early so your eyes can adjust, and avoid using any bright lights that could affect your night vision. Since meteor shower watching can be a multihour activity, make sure to dress appropriately for the weather and abstain from alcohol, since it acts as a vasodilator and can cause you to lose body heat more quickly on cold evenings. 

You won’t need any equipment since meteors are visible to the naked eye. Telescopes and binoculars will reduce your field of view, which may cause you to miss meteors.

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Technologies

Our Favorite Gaming Keyboard Is Down to Its Lowest Price Ever This Amazon Spring Sale

This Amazon Spring Sale deal slashes a whopping 36% off our favorite gaming keyboard.

If you’re in the market for a gaming keyboard, I know it can get pretty daunting. Between the sheer number of options and varying price points, picking one out is far from easy, especially if you’re looking for a budget-minded option. However, right now, SteelSeries’ popular Apex 3 TKL model is discounted to just $32 as part of the Amazon Spring Sale, a solid 36% drop from its usual $50 price, which makes it one of the most accessible upgrades you can make.

The SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL is easy to recommend, considering how well it balances the basics. It’s a tenkeyless design, which means you’re losing the number pad but gaining more desk space. That can make a big difference if you’re running a compact desk setup.

The typing experience leans towards quiet and comfortable thanks to the whisper quiet switches used here. That makes the keyboard accessible for everyday work as well as gaming. It also bring in features you wouldn’t really expect at this budget price point. You get customizable RGB lighting, dedicated media controls and even IP32 water resistance to protect the keyboard against accidental beverage spills.

The keyboard is our pick for the best gaming keyboard for 2026, which reflects how it performs in real-world use. If you want a full-size layout, the standard Apex 3 is also on sale though the discount runs a bit slimmer. The regular Apex 3 with a full-size number pad can be had for $50, down from its usual $55 price.

CHEAP GAMING LAPTOP DEALS OF THE WEEK

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

Priced at $32, the SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL delivers an excellent balance of performance, useful features and a compact design at a price that’s hard to argue with. That $18 discount makes it one of the easiest gaming peripheral upgrades to recommend.

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Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for March 29, #1744

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for March 29, No. 1,744.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is kind of a funny word, with some unusual letters I don’t often guess. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Read more: New Study Reveals Wordle’s Top 10 Toughest Words of 2025

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with C.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with P.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a foolish, easily tricked person.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is CHUMP.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, March 28, No. 1743, was AFOOT.

Recent Wordle answers

March 24, No. 1739: BROOD

March 25, No. 1740: WISER

March 26, No. 1741: BEFIT

March 27, No. 1742: IVORY

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

Don’t be afraid to use our tip sheet ranking all the letters in the alphabet by frequency of uses. In short, you want starter words that lean heavy on E, A and R, and don’t contain Z, J and Q. 

Some solid starter words to try:

ADIEU

TRAIN

CLOSE

STARE

NOISE

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 29, #552

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for March 29 No. 552.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

I immediately spotted the yellow group answers, but thought, no, that’s too easy. Spoiler: It was just that easy. If you’re struggling with today’s Connections: Sports Edition, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Hitting.

Green group hint: Texas teams.

Blue group hint: Goal!

Purple group hint: Play ball!

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Parts of a cycle.

Green group: Houston sports team, in singular form.

Blue group: Former U.S. women’s national team soccer players.

Purple group: Ends in an MLB team in singular form.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is parts of a cycle. The four answers are double, home run, single and triple.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Houston sports team, in singular form. The four answers are Astro, Cougar, Rocket and Texan.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is former U.S. women’s national team soccer players. The four answers are Foudy, Hamm, Lilly and Solo.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends in an MLB team in singular form. The four answers are comet (Met), international (National), stranger (Ranger) and stray (Ray).

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