Go somewhere dark and look up! The Orionid meteor shower is peaking

You can’t see Halley’s Comet from Earth for another 36 years — but you can see bits and pieces of it burning up in our atmosphere Monday and Tuesday night.

The Orionids — one of the best meteor showers of the year, which is composed of castoffs from the comet last seen by the human eye in 1986 — is going to peak over the next few days. And if you head to a spot dark enough, you could see as many as 20 meteors an hour, according to the American Meteor Society.

Prime viewing opportunities for fast, bright streaks across the sky, as well as some fireballs, will be between midnight and dawn on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The darker your sky, the more meteors you’re likely to see. And we’re lucky this year — a new moon means no moonlight to contend with.

Light pollution is a different story. You’re going to want to find an area ranked as Bortle class 4 or below. (Bortle classifications are a scale indicating the amount of light pollution in a given area.) You’ll find class 4 and lower in the desert or high in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains. The Santa Monica Mountains offer some class 5 spots, so you could test your luck there. Here’s a light pollution map for reference.

To watch the Orionids, lie back in a lounge chair and stare at the sky, giving your eyes 30 minutes to adjust to the dark. (No phone!) Look toward the southern horizon for the constellation Orion, which will rise higher into the sky as the night goes on. If you’re using a star gazing app, look in the direction of Betelgeuse.

The Orionids originate from the comet 1P/Halley, which was discovered in 1705 by Edmond Halley. The celestial body known as Halley’s Comet was last visible from Earth almost 40 years ago. Your next chance to see the comet itself? 2061, as it passes Earth in its 76-year orbit around the sun.

The Orionids meteor shower started Oct. 2 and lasts through Nov. 12.