NASA has revealed when ‘Santa’s sleigh’ will be visible in the UK this Christmas.

‘Santa’s sleigh’ is in fact the International Space Station (ISS) and is often spotted by families searching for Santa on Christmas Eve.

It will be visible on Christmas Eve for early risers if the kids like to get up early.

How to spot ‘Santa’s sleigh’ this Christmas, according to NASA

The ‘sleigh’ will be visible to the naked eye if you know where to look, according to NASA.

NASA said: “It is the third brightest object in the sky and easy to spot if you know when to look up".

Adding: "Visible to the naked eye, it looks like a fast-moving plane only much higher and travelling thousands of miles an hour faster!”

NASA explains how you can tell it is the space stations rather than a plane because it will not change direction and will not have flashing lights.

When you can spot ‘Santa’s sleigh’ this Christmas, according to NASA

This year the ISS will pass over the UK on Christmas Eve too, but you will have to be up early. Kids will be able to spot Santa at the following times:

  • Saturday 24th December at 4.50 AM where he will be visible for 1 min moving above the East
  • Saturday 24th December at 6.23 AM where he will be visible for 5 min moving above the East

To help you spot the Space Station – or Santa’s sleigh -you can download the ISS tracking app on the App Store of Google Play Store.

You can also visit NASA’s website.