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The night sky will be filled with "spectacular fireworks" while a meteor shower will hit the Earth all week.
The Leonid meteor shower will be visible across Canada and most of the world on a clear day between Monday, November 12 and Saturday, November 17 – the optimal viewing times being Saturday night and early Sunday morning.
People will not need a telescope to attend the celestial show, but physics and astronomy professor Paul Delaney of York University in Toronto said that patience and warm clothing may be needed for those who were watching outside.
"It's a fantastic fireworks display. It's a place where everyone can sit and enjoy it, "he said in an interview with CTV News Channel on Monday. "With a little light, people could really turn to astronomy."
For a better view, astronomers should look towards the eastern horizon between 19:30 and 21:30 on weekdays.
People can see meteorite rain without a telescope because of the high speed at which the debris from the Tempel – Tuttle comet moves.
The particles of the comet will move about 70 kilometers per second as they rush into the Earth's atmosphere, emitting bright lights that will be visible from below.
"At this speed, they generate a tremendous amount of friction as they pass through the upper atmosphere, making them shine with incandescence," Delaney said. "These are the" shooting stars "we all know."
He predicted that due to debris fragmentation, sky observers could see between 15 and 20 meteorite observations in one hour during rush hours on Saturday and Sunday.
But to get the best views, people might need to get away from the lights of the city where the sky will be darker and where "the weaker ones (meteorites) will become visible to you," said Delaney.
The comet Tempel – Tuttle revolves around the sun and, every mid-November, it is visible when the Earth crosses its torrent of debris. The debris ranges from the size of sand particles to that of a baseball.
If you are in Toronto and looking for a warm place to watch the show, York University gives you the chance to catch a glimpse of meteor showers all week long.
The university event takes place at the top of the parking garage at arboretum Lane on its campus. The university will also offer a tour of the constellation and an observation at the general telescope of the night sky.
Delaney said people should not worry about whether celestial debris could hit people.
"I think the chances of you hitting the Lotto Max are probably better, but it's very unlikely," he said. "But it's possible."
"We have many meteor strikes on the planet every day, so I guess it's a little more likely during the Leonids, but the chances are really very low," he laughed.
The remains of the comet Tempel-Tuttle seem to come from the constellation Leo, which is one of the most easily recognizable because of its distinctive shape reminiscent of a squatting lion.
Although the meteor shower is a little easier to see from the northern hemisphere, people in the southern hemisphere will also be able to see it.
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