YOUNGSTERS looking up hoping to catch a glimpse of Father Christmas and his team of reindeer may just get lucky tonight.

Time it just right and you'll see a shining light speeding across the night sky.

Of course, we don't want to give away Santa's magical secrets, so if you want to stay off the naughty list, just make sure you are looking south-south-west towards the horizon at 5.21pm.

However, if you want to know how old Saint Nick does it, read on - and make sure no sensitive eyes are looking.

The bright light will in fact be the International Space Station, which is due to pass over the UK this evening.

With youngsters likely to be on the lookout for Santa, parents might just choose to point up into the night sky and let them draw their own conclusions.

According to NASA, if the sky is clear, the ISS will be visible over the Southampton area at 5.21pm for two minutes.

All you need to do is look south-south-west and it will appear 17° above the horizon, which is quite low down, so you may need to either be in a flat, open space or quite high up to make sure you can see it - weather permitting.

To help you, if you look straight up, that's 90° and the horizon is 0°. NASA suggests that a clenched fist at arm's length is about 10° in height.

The ISS will then vanish from view 11° above South, two minutes after appearing.

If you want some help, free phone apps such as StarWalk for iOS can help you identify celestial bodies.

For a full list of times and dates the spacecraft will be visible from Southampton - or any location of your choosing - visit NASA's International Space Station website.

Of course, whether or not to tell your child that Santa is the International Space Station is up to you - both options are fairly impressive, anyway.

If however, the clouds ruin the spectacle, you can always track Santa with NORAD or Google's Santa Tracker.

These show you exactly where in the world Father Christmas will be as he makes his deliveries today.