Doyle Rice

USA TODAY

The Orionid meteor shower will be visible Monday and Tuesday nights.

There could be as many as 25 meteors per hour at its height, according to EarthSky. If clouds don't interfere with your view, the lack of a bright moon will help in viewing the meteors.

"There's no year better for the Orionids than this one," said astronomer Bob Berman of the astronomy website Slooh.

The Orionids get their name because they seem to come from the constellation Orion the Hunter, though the meteors usually can be seen over much of the night sky.

The meteors are actually bits of dust and rocks that are debris from Halley's Comet, caused when Earth comes near the comet's orbit, according to Sky and Telescope magazine.

The actual comet can be seen only every 75 years or so — the next sighting is in 2062 — but this meteor shower is viewable every year around this time.

Skies should be clear for viewing the meteors in the Midwest, most of the South and the Southwest. Clouds could block the view for skywatchers in the Northeast, the Pacific Northwest and the northern Rockies to the High Plains, according to AccuWeather's forecast.

To see the meteors, look to the east and southeast sky between midnight and dawn. Find a place away from lights so your eyes can adapt to the darkness. That can take up to 20 minutes.

The first known Orionid shower was recorded in China in the year 288 when "stars fell like rain," Sky and Telescope reported.