The Orionid meteor shower peaked on the morning of Sunday, Oct. 21 this year.
The meteors come from bits of debris left behind by Halley's Comet when it last visited Earth in 1986. When pieces of dust, rock and ice hit our atmosphere, they get burned up and create streaks of light in the sky.
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"Because comet Halley orbits the Sun in the opposite direction as the Earth, the Orionid meteors enter the atmosphere relatively fast. Thus, they are seen to 'explode,' or really fall apart, more often than other meteor showers," Anita Cochran, a professor of astronomy at the University of Texas, tell us.
In case you missed the light show, we've rounded some great pictures snapped by skywatchers.
If you snapped any photos and would like to share them on Business Insider, send them to dspector@businessinsider.com with a name and location.
Skywatcher Mike Lewinski snapped this photo on Oct. 20, 2012. "This bright meteor left a persistent ion train visible in subsequent frames for about half an hour," noted Lewinski.
An Orionid meteor, seen over Huntsville, Alabama.
An Orionid fireball meteor from North Georgia College. The photo was taken at 12:29 a.m. EDT on Oct. 21, 2012.
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