Meteor Shower Tonight Time, Live Streaming and All You Need to Know to Watch It

If you're looking for something to do on Saturday night, you might want to check out the 2012 Orionid meteor shower.

The 2012 Orionid meteor shower peaks on the night of Oct. 20 - 21 and and will rain bits of Halley's Comet on Earth tonight.

According to NASA, Orionids appear every year around this time when Earth orbits through an area of space littered with debris from the ancient comet. Normally, the shower produces 20 or so meteors per hour. The past few years, however, have been much better than usual.

"Earth is passing through a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, the source of the Orionids," Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office said. "Flakes of comet dust hitting the atmosphere should give us dozens of meteors per hour. Since 2006, the Orionids have been one of the best showers of the year, with counts in some years up to 60 or more meteors per hour."

NASA's live view of the shower begins TONIGHT at 11 p.m. and ends at 3 a.m. NASA's webcast and video stream starts at 11 p.m. tonight: http://www.nasa.gov/connect/chat/orionids2012.html. NASA astronomer Mitzi Adams will be answering questions via the live Web chat.

Scientists say the best time to see the shower is before sunrise on Sunday, Oct. 21.

According to Discovery, if you plan to watch the Orionids with your own eyes, there are three important things you should do:

Find a dark sky:While the Orionids have been a fairly dependable meteor shower in recent years, the best viewing conditions are in places far from city lights, which can hamper your view.

Dress warmly:You may want to take your time observing the Orionids, so a warm jacket to ward off the predawn chill may prove useful.

Get comfortable:A reclining lawn chair or other comfy seat can help ease neck strain from constantly looking up for a glimpse of meteors. Add a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate and you've got cozy meteor-hunting night out.