Comets leave a trail of debris behind them. If their path crosses Earth's path, then at that point, every year for a long time, there will be meteor showers as the long-gone comet's debris strikes our atmosphere.

Some of these meteor showers occur every year when the Earth passes the place where the comet had been long ago.

The Perseid meteor shower occurs every year between August 9 and 13 when the Earth passes through the orbit of the Swift-Tuttle comet. Halley's comet is the source of the Orionid shower in October.

Comets are brightest when they are near the Sun.