At her house in Wiltshire, England, Renata Arpasova woke up at 1 a.m. in the early morning of Oct. 21 to catch a glimpse of a rare spectacle over the skies of her neighborhood.
And as she found a clear patch of sky to catch sight of a few big, bright meteors passing overhead, Arpasova became one of millions to have seen the Orionid meteor shower light up the sky this weekend.
The meteor shower passed Oct. 21 and will not be viewable today, Oct. 22.
Arpasova described the Orionids as being magical.
"I love meteor showers, and have always been fascinated by them from an early age," she told CNN. "They're nature's fireworks, and they are so breathtaking, especially when you get a big fireball that burns through the astrosphere."
"And you get to make a wish every time you see a meteor," she added.
The meteor shower peaked about early in the morning on Sunday, with forecasters predicting that stargazers could count on at least 25 meteors an hour to be seen streaking across the canvas of the night sky in the pre-dawn hours.
Lucky stargazers such as photographer Tommy Eliassen, over in Korgfjellet, Hemnes in Norway, were able to catch an eyeful of a light show that only comes around twice a year.
"An Orionid meteor streaking over the sky, the aurora borealis in the northern horizon and the Milky Way over my camp," Eliassen told SPACE.com in an email from in Norway, according to Fox News. "A very cold but perfect night to photograph the Orionid meteor shower."
In Clinton Township, Mich., observer Dale Mayotte told SPACE.com in an email that this year's Orionid meteor display was extra special for him as he finally was able to catch a meteor on camera.
"It only took me about 700 pictures to get this one beautiful meteor, but this is the first one I have ever captured and it happened on my 38th birthday for an EXCELLENT present to myself," Mayotte said. "Sitting in the cold for 2.5 hours was well worth this result."
The Orionids-which come from the Orion constellation-are one of two meteor showers created by Halley's Comet each year. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is the second, which happens when Earth passes through another stream of debris from the comet in May.
Stargazers can get ready for the next major meteor shower, the annual Leonid meteor shower, scheduled to arrive in mid-November, peaking on Nov. 17, according to Space.com.
Pictures of the Orionids shared by stargazers worldwide can be seen on NASA's home page.
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