You'll be able to see Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
If you think Santa isn't real, then you're quite clearly a cotton-headed ninny muggins.
To those of you who somehow haven't wanted the movie Elf, I sincerely do not apologise for that reference.
However, when we say you'll be able to spot Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve, what we really mean is you'll be able to spot something that you can tell the kids - is Santa's slay.
Spoiler alert - the 'sleigh' is in fact the International Space Station (ISS) which revolves around Earth 16 times a day.
Advert
It's actually often visible if you know where to look, but this Christmas it's perfect for telling the kids it's Santa on his way to do the rounds.
Kids in the UK will be able to spot Santa at the following times, as per Family On The Go:
- Saturday 24 December at 5:38am. You will be able to get a glimpse of good old Saint Nic for approximately one minute and he will be flying to the East.
- Saturday 24 December at 7:11am, 'Santa' will be moving to the East and you'll have a longer five minutes to catch him.
- Sunday 25 December at 4:50am. You'll be able to get a peek of the 'sleigh' moving to the East for three minutes.
- Sunday 25 December at 6:23am, the ISS - let's not kid ourselves now - will be your best bet at spotting the station as it moves to the East and is visible for six minutes.
NASA previously explained that you can 'watch the International Space Station pass overhead from several thousand worldwide locations'.
"It is the third brightest object in the sky and easy to spot if you know when to look up."
They add: "Visible to the naked eye, it looks like a fast-moving plane only much higher and traveling thousands of miles an hour faster!"
For the best chance of spotting it, look south-west in the sky and remember you only have a three-minute window - so you need to be up bright and early.
Plus, the sky needs to be clear, so if it's a cloudy rainy day it's probably not worth getting out of bed.
If you missed it this morning, there's a second chance for you and your family to spot it on Christmas Day - just explain he's on his way home to the kids.
To make sure you don't miss it, you can download the ISS tracking app or head to NASA's Spot The Station website here.
Well, Santa's sleigh might not be around in the next 10 years as NASA plans to crash the ISS into the Pacific Ocean in 2031.
The ISS was launched in 1998 and was originally designed to last for just 15 years, but, when it finally lands back on Earth in less than ten years time, it will have been operational for more than three decades.
Writing in the International Space Station Transition Report, NASA said: “The ISS is a unique laboratory that is returning enormous scientific, educational, and technological developments to benefit people on Earth and is enabling our ability to travel into deep space.
“Based on the ISS structural health analysis, there is high confidence that its life can be extended through 2030.
“The technical lifetime of the ISS is limited by the primary structure, which includes the modules, radiators and truss structures.”
Anish Vij