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This latest installment of cosmic action in the night sky is the Orionids meteor shower. The month-long event will peak overnight on Thursday.

But if you’re thinking of being late for the show, keep in mind that the nearly full moon is likely to overshadow some of the exciting lines that observers would easily see on darker nights.

What are meteor showers?

As Earth orbits the sun, it passes through trails of debris emitted from comets and asteroids. The stray remnants of these tracks mix with the planet’s atmosphere and turn into meteorites when they burn there. The result: meteor showers, also called “shooting stars,” that can last from dusk to dawn and dazzle the night sky with fast streaks of light.

The Orionid meteor shower is the latest event, and its meteors are made of material left behind by Halley’s comet. This celestial celebrity visits Earth’s solar neighborhood every 76 years, leaving a scattered trail of rocky material suspended in our planet’s orbital path around the sun for decades between each visit. From October 2 to November 7, cosmic material splashes into Earth’s atmosphere at speeds of up to 148,000 miles per hour, with peak activity in late October.

There is a twin in the Orionid shower, Eta Aquariid meteor showerIt also consists of residual fragments of Halley’s Comet. It appears in May as the Earth passes through another part of its orbital path.

Meteor showers are named after constellations in the night sky from which meteorites appear to be thrown. During the Orionids shower, meteorites appear around the constellation Orion, hence the name Orionids. The Leonid meteor shower, an event that will peak in the middle of next month, is named after the constellation Leo.

According to the International Meteor Organization, you can see about 10 to 20 meteors per hour on normal nights. Orionids from 2006 to 2009 were some of the most active, offering 50 to 75 series per hour. But this year’s Orionids won’t look nearly as spectacular. This is because the moon will be 99.87 percent full, washing away most of the lines you might otherwise see in a much darker sky.

how to watch

Find an outdoor spot with expansive, unobstructed views of the night sky late Wednesday night and early Thursday during the peak of the Orionids. The wider your field of view, the better your chances of seeing a meteor streaking across the sky. And the farther your viewing location is from cities and light-polluted traffic, the better.

Orionids can be seen in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. NASA recommends setting up a sleeping bag and lying on your back, taking in as much of the night sky as possible. The action lasts from midnight to dawn, but mostly takes place in the hours after midnight.

Look for meteors near the constellation Orion in the southwestern night sky for those in the Northern Hemisphere or the northwest sky for those in the Southern Hemisphere. But be sure to keep your eyes peeled – using binoculars narrows your field of view. NASA says longer meteor lines will appear about 45 to 90 degrees away from the constellation Orion.

Although there is no escape from the light pollution emanating from the Moon, hope is not completely lost. The meteor shower lasts until November 7, so if you don’t see any during the peak, you have a few more nights to catch the last meteors.