What time is the Orionid meteor shower and how can I watch it?

Look up at the night sky this weekend and you’ll find a dazzling sight: The Orionid meteor shower, which will be at peak visibility over the next few days.

According to NASA, the meteor shower — made up of debris from Halley’s Comet — will be most visible the night of Oct. 21 and the following morning. It’s an annual phenomenon, as the Orionid meteor shower becomes most visible every year in mid-October, when the Earth passes through the debris.

Named because they appear to originate from the Orion constellation, the Orionids will be the brightest at 2 a.m. on both Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com.

The shower will last from Oct. 2 to Nov. 26, according to AOL.

It’ll be an amazing sight, as the brightness of Orionid meteors is rarely rivaled, according to Business Insider.

For the best viewing experience, NASA suggested in a 2015 post about the Orionids, you should make sure to avoid cities and street lights — and get outside a bit early so your eyes can adjust to the darkness.

And it doesn’t matter where you are, Newsweek reported, as the meteor shower will be visible from any place on earth.

“Come prepared with a sleeping bag, blanket or lawn chair,” NASA wrote. “Lie flat on your back with your feet facing southeast if you are in the Northern Hemisphere or northeast if you are in the Southern Hemisphere, and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible.”

“In less than 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors. Be patient -- the show will last until dawn, so you have plenty of time to catch a glimpse.”

You can also watch the cosmic show on Slooh, a robotic telescope that lets users view astral events in real-time, or on NASA’s live stream from the Marshall Space Flight Center on Ustream, set to begin at 10 p.m. EDT on Oct. 21.

Cooke told Space.com that, depending on the year, there can be a peak of anywhere between 20 to 80 meteors in a single hour. This year, Cooke said, it’s likely the number of meteors will be closer to 20 than 80.

If you miss this shower, however, don’t worry — the Leonids meteor shower will peak from midnight to dawn on Nov. 18, according to NASA.

This story was originally published October 20, 2017 at 8:19 AM with the headline "What time is the Orionid meteor shower and how can I watch it?."