Young eyes will be looking to the skies on Christmas Eve to search for any sign that Santa’s sleigh is on its way from the North Pole.
But while you’re trying to spot Dasher, Dancer, Comet, Cupid – and not forgetting Rudolph – you might also be able to catch a glimpse of the International Space Station which just happens to be visible in the skies above Chester on Christmas Eve. Tell your children to look at the sky, and they will be convinced the bright, moving light is Santa's Sleigh.
So when can I see the Space Station?
The ISS is the largest man-made object in space and is bigger than a football pitch. It reflects the sun's light as it passes overhead and so appears as a giant, star-like object moving across the night sky. It looks like a fast-moving plane but it is dozens of times higher than any airplane and travels thousands of miles an hour faster.
Because of the speed of an orbiting vehicle, telescopes are not practical. So all you need to do is look up. NASA say that a good pair of field binoculars may reveal some detail of the structural shape of the spacecraft.
You’ll have to be quick, because it will only be visible over Chester and Ellesmere Port for a minute, around 5.20pm.
Follow the glowing light across the sky from south-southwest to south.
Related: Track Santa live as he heads to Cheshire on Christmas Eve
If you miss it on Christmas Eve, the space station will reappear for a festive fly past at 4.29pm on Christmas Day, visible for just under 60 seconds. Look south-southeast.
Excitingly, the first British ESA astronaut Tim Peake is currently on board the International Space Station after his arrival on December 15. He is the sixth British-born person to visit the ISS and the seventh British-born person in space.
