Orionid meteor shower: You don’t need a telescope to see this sky show in SC

If you’re willing to stay up a little late this weekend, you’ll have the chance to see one of the year’s most dazzling sky shows — the Orionid meteor shower.

The Orionids peak on Oct. 20 which will be a dark, moonless night, according to NASA. Experts say you can also watch the shower on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22.

Peak visibility time is around 2 a.m.

There will be clear skies in South Carolina and throughout the eastern U.S. which will provide excellent viewing conditions.

The shower produces around 20 meteors per hour, and stargazers are advised to get the best views by getting far away from city lights, which can reduce the number of meteors people can see.

Orionid meteors appear every year around this time when Earth orbits through an area of space littered with debris from Halley’s Comet, according to NASA.

The Orionids are named after the direction from which they appear to radiate, which is near the constellation Orion, Space.com explained.

The eastern U.S. will have the best weather on Friday night for viewing the shower with a large dome of high pressure promoting clear skies across the region, AccuWeather reports.

This story was originally published October 19, 2017 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Orionid meteor shower: You don’t need a telescope to see this sky show in SC."