The Orionids are particularly fast, entering the atmosphere at around 41 miles per second.
As tiny particles from Halley’s comet enter the Earth’s atmosphere they heat up and produce streaks of light across the night sky that we see as meteors.
Halley’s Comet is one of the most famous comets in our Solar System and has been observed from Earth for centuries. It takes around 76 years to complete one orbit of the Sun and was last seen from Earth in 1986.
Halley’s Comet is not expected to be visible from Earth again until 2061, but its debris will continue to produce meteor showers each year.
In fact, the Earth encounters material left behind by it twice a year, resulting in the Eta Aquariid meteor shower in May and the Orionids in October.
