If you looked into the sky last night, you may have seen streaks of light gliding through the sky. This was the peak of the Orionid meteor shower. Those who missed the shower may still be able to see remnants of the show as the meteors decline over the next couple of days.

The Orionid meteor shower occurs every year as the Earth passes through the orbital path of Halley's Comet. The meteors in the sky are actually debris from Halley's Comet, which passes the sun every 76 years (it will next be visible from Earth in 2061). The shower gets its name because its meteors look like they come from north of Betelgeuse, the second brightest star in the constellation Orion. The Orionid shower is a less noticeable version of the August's Perseid meteor shower.

The show peaked overnight, as Sunday turned into Monday, at around 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT), but the bright moon might have outshined the meteors, making them hard to see.

The Orionid shower usually begins on Oct. 17 at a rate of five meteors per hour. The rate increases by Oct. 19 and peaks the morning of Oct. 21. If the sky is clear and dark, 20 to 25 meteors can be seen every hour. The meteor shower continues until Oct. 25, when it returns to its slower rate of five meteors per hour. Both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere are able to see the Orionid shower.

Although the height of the shower has passed, sky gazers still stand a chance of being mesmerized by the sky. The best time to see the remaining Orionid meetors, no matter your time zone, is between midnight and dawn until Oct. 25. The bright moon will still hinder the show, but if you are lucky you might even see a bright meteor shining its way through the moonlight.

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