UK will spy Mir in night sky

Mir will appear in the sky like a meteor or UFO

The Russian space station Mir will be visible with the naked eye from the UK at the start of the new year.

Weather permitting, the beleaguered craft will first be visible from parts of the south on New Year's Day.

It will come into view for three minutes from London as it orbits 300km (190 miles) above the earth.

To skywatchers it will appear similar to a meteor and experts have said some people may think it is a UFO.

Communication problems on Tuesday sparked fears that the 15-year-old space station might have spun dangerously out of control.

But, having restored contact after 20 hours, Russian mission control says it is on course and there is no danger of it falling to earth.

Nasa scientists say that from 1703GMT on New Year's Eve, Mir will move across the sky towards the south east, reaching a maximum elevation of 11 degrees above the southern horizon before disappearing again.

Scrap plans

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

Skywatchers in Leeds will first have the chance to spy the space station at 1716GMT on 2 January in the south, moving towards the south east.

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

Nasa scientists have calculated that Mir will be visible twice from London on 8 January for a total of eight minutes.

When Mir was launched in February 1986 it was seen as a major symbol of the Soviet Union's prestige and technological advancement.

But Mir's last crew returned to earth in July following Moscow's decision to scrap the space station to concentrate its resources on the new International Space Station.

Officials are now planning to ditch the station in a controlled descent that will send it hurtling into a remote area of the Pacific Ocean, 1,500-2,000km east of Australia.