A meteor shower will light up the Interior’s sky all weekend

| October 20, 2017 in Provincial

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B.C.'s Interior and the rest of Canada will be treated to a stellar meteor shower this weekend. 

The Orionid meteor shower will be visible Friday and Saturday night as Earth travels through an area of space littered with debris from Halley’s Comet.

"Earth is passing through a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, the source of the Orionids," said NASA's Bill Cooke in a media release. "Bits of comet dust hitting the atmosphere should give us a couple dozen of meteors per hour."

The meteor shower is comprised of fireball meteors, which sounds pretty cool according to the American Society of Meteors:

"Another term for a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -4, which is about the same magnitude of the planet Venus as seen in the morning or evening sky."

It’s recommended that you don’t use telescopes or binoculars to view the meteors because those are meant to magnify stationary objects in the sky.

The best time to view the meteor shower is between midnight and dawn on Friday or Saturday night from anywhere on Earth.

"Look near Orion's club in the hours before dawn and you may see up to 10 to 15 meteors per hour," NASA's Jane Houston Jones says in a post.

There is a chance of thundershowers tonight according to Environment Canada, but the clouds will likely clear by the time the show starts. 

Make sure to tag #kelownanow with your Instagram shot of the Orionid meteor shower!

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