Brilliant celestial firework will be on display in Kolkata on November 17 and the night following when the Leonid meteor would shower startling streaks of light.

"The Leonid meteor shower, the most prominent of meteor showers that occur from time to time will peak on November 17 and early November 18 at around 0300 hrs," according to M P Birla Planetarium Director Debiprosad Duari.

He said that every year around November 16 and 17 as the earth passes through the cometary debris of periodic comet P-55/Temple Tuttle, one could expect the meteor shower.

"As the night progresses, the number of meteors is expected to rise and if the forecast timings are accurate, may peak between 0304 hrs and 0314 hrs in the early hours of November 18 numbering hundreds per hour. But this time the meteors will be much faster and of short duration," he said.

Duari said that the phenomenon would be visible in Asia and parts of eastern Europe.