Last seen from Earth back in the spring of 1986, Halley's Comet "returns" later this month —or least parts of it will.

The comet, whose orbit in the solar system brings it past our planet about every 75 to 76 years, leaves a trail of dust and debris behind that forms a meteor shower over our skies twice each year.

Those particles pose no danger to anyone on Earth —though they're made from ice and rock vaporized by the intense heat of the Sun, they're as small as grains of sand and burn up nearly 40 miles above our planet's surface.

In May, that meteor shower is known as the Eta Aquarids, while in October it's known as the Orionids.

This year's Orionid meteor shower arrives around the night of Oct. 21-22, just as Earth is plunging through the remnants of Halley's Comet on our own orbit around the Sun. As the U.K.-based Independent points out, you'll be able to view them after midnight that evening, when you should be able to see about 25 shooting stars every hour.

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"These are fast-moving meteors, and they often leave a persistent train of light behind them as they are incinerated," the newspaper notes.

Perhaps the best-known comet around the world, Halley's Comet was first observed in China back in 240 B.C., but there are also records from ancient Greece of the comet's appearance that date as far back as 467 B.C.

It's been an object of fascination ever since, largely because it's the only comet that can be clearly seen with the naked eye and potentially seen twice in an individual person's lifetime thanks to its 75- to 76-year-long orbit, which takes it almost as far away as Pluto at its farthest point.

Halley's Comet is set to return to Earth in 2061, when it is expected to be much brighter than its most recent (and disappointing, to many) pass by in 1986.

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