The Orionid meteor shower rained bits of the famed Halley’s Comet on Earth on Sunday to the delight of all stargazers around the world. The Orionid meteor shower peaked early on October 21, with forecasters predicting up to 25 meteors an hour for patient observers with clear skies well away from city lights.

The Orionid meteor shower occur every October when the Earth crosses a stream of left over dust by Halley’s Comet. The metor shower appears to radiate out of the well-known constellation Orion, which is why they are called the Orionids.

NASA astronomer Mitzi Adams says that the meteors explode into dazzling displays when they pass through Earth’s atmosphere at about 65 kilometers per second (that’s nearly 150,000 mph).

The Orionids are one of two meteor showers created by Halley’s Comet each year. The Earth passes through a second stream of the comet’s debris in May, leading to the Eta Aquarid meteor shower. The next major meteor shower to dazzle the night sky will be the annual Leonid meteor shower on November 17.

Photographer Tommy Eliassen captured a spectacular view of the Orionids meteor shower and Earth’s dazzling northern lights in Norway. In an email to SPACE.com from Korgfjellet, Hemnes in Norway, Eliassen described the spectacle as: “An Orionid meteor streaking over the sky, the aurora borealis in the northern horizon and the Milky Way over my camp. A very cold but perfect night to photograph the Orionid meteor shower.”

Michigan-based stargazer Dale Mayotte said that this year’s Orionid meteor shower display was more special than usual since he finally managed to capture a meteor on camera.

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