Stargazers are in for a New Year treat when the beleaguered Russian space station Mir makes a spectacular appearance in the night sky above Yorkshire next week.

Mir's path in the sky means it will be visible with the naked eye from the whole of the United Kingdom on the evening of January 3 and will put in daily appearances in the night sky over the following week.

In Leeds it will first appear at 5.16pm on January 2 in the south moving towards the south east.

It will be visible for three minutes and reach a maximum elevation of 13 degrees.

To sky-watchers, the 15-year-old spacecraft, which is orbiting 190 miles above the earth, will appear similar to a meteor.