According to Astronomy Ireland a ‘Christmas Comet’ will be visible over Irish skies during the festive season.

The comet has been dubbed ‘Comet Wirtanen’ and will be flying unusually close to the earth this month and will be particularly visible in our skies in the middle of this month.

Speaking about the comet, David Moore, Editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine, said: “We have not had a comet this well placed and bright for many years.

“We have dubbed Comet Wirtanen ‘the Christmas Comet of 2018’ for this reason. We want to give the general public a close up look at this comet in powerful telescopes.”

He also added that Astronomy Ireland will be setting up telescopes at their headquarters from Dec 14th so people can view this rare occurrence.