The Orionid meteor shower is approaching its period of peak activity, with the number of shooting stars expected to climax on October 20 and 21. And this year, conditions are right for an excellent light show.

According to NASA, the Orionids are known for some of the brightness and fastest meteors, which reach velocities of almost 150,000 miles per hour as they zoom into Earth's atmosphere.

Meteor showers are celestial events that occur when the Earth passes through streams of cosmic debris left behind by comets and, in some rare cases, asteroids. During these events, numerous meteors can be seen streaking across the sky, appearing to originate from a single point—known as the radiant.

Meteors—colloquially referred to as shooting stars—are the streaks of light we see in the sky when tiny fragments of space debris burn up in the Earth's atmosphere at high speed.

The debris that produces the Orionids is left behind by the famous Halley's comet, which orbits the sun, on average, every 76 years.

The comet's last pass of Earth came in 1986 and we will not be able to see it again until the year 2061. The object measures around 9.3 miles by 5 miles across and is one of the least reflective known cosmic bodies in the solar system.

"Halley also causes the Eta Aquarids [meteor shower] in May, and was visited by a flotilla of spacecraft in 1986," Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the U.K. Royal Astronomical Society, told Newsweek.

The Orionids are a medium-strength shower that can occasionally reach high rates of activity, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS).

They have been known to produce more than 50 visible meteors per hour in exceptional years, but maximum rates at the peak usually ranges between 10 and 20 per hour.

This year, the shower is active between September 26 and November 26, reaching its peak on the night of October 20-21. On this night, the moon will be 21 percent full.

The International Meteor Organisation calendar predicts a theoretical peak of 20 meteors per hour for this year's show, "implying seeing perhaps around eight under good conditions," Massey said.

Aside from the peak night, it is possible to see the Orionids throughout October, although activity is reduced the further away you get from the peak night.

As well as being extremely fast, Orionid meteors are characterized by fine trains—trails of vaporized material that glow in the sky—that can glow for several seconds to minutes.

The radiant of this meteor shower lies in the constellation of Orion, which is where its name comes from.

But while the radiant is where the meteors appear to originate from, it is not their true origin. When trying to view the shower, the meteors will be visible across the night sky, so it is a good idea to not simply look toward the radiant.

"This shower produces fine trails—and the occasional fireball—and since the moon will be near to its new moon phase, it won't interfere with skywatching," Tania de Sales Marques, an astronomer with the Royal Observatory Greenwich in London, England, told Newsweek. "The best time to view this meteor shower will be after Orion rises, just before midnight, and thereafter throughout the night."

In order to view the shower, astronomers recommend finding a location away from light sources, preferably with an open view of the sky.

Bring a lawn chair, blanket or sleeping bag so you can comfortably look up at as much of the sky as possible. You will not need any special equipment, just your eyes, but it will take them around 30 minutes to adjust to the dark.

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