A FORMER astronaut who sang Space Oddity as his capsule orbited Earth will make an appearance at Urmston Grammar School on December 9, at 7.30pm.

The event, which is organised by Urmston Bookshop, features Canadian Chris Hadfield, who is promoting his latest book You Are Here.

Hadfield who also wrote the bestselling An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth,

is credited with creating a surprisingly intimate and compelling visual essay about the planet we live on in his latest publication, by choosing the best from the thousands of photos he took on the International Space Station.

It includes photographs of Hull and London by night.

The event will be held in the sports hall of Urmston Grammar School.

Hadfield, who was raised on a farm in southern Ontario, claims he was inspired as a child after watching the Apollo 11 Moon landing on television.

He first flew in space in November, 1995, when he visited the Russian Mir space station; a feat he repeated in 2001 when he became the first Canadian to walk in space.

It was also during his final mission on Soyuz, between December 2012 and May 2013, he gained widespread attention by chronicling life aboard and taking thousands of photographs of Earth from a height of 200 miles, before posting them onto the social media.

Shortly before leaving, he also recorded a music video of David Bowie's Space Oddity, which has now been viewed by more than 24 million people on YouTube.

Tickets costing £10 (redeemable against part of the cost of the book) are now available from http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/chris-hadfield-talk-and-book-signing-tues-9th-dec-2014-tickets-4235801396, or from Urmston Bookshop, at 72, Flixton Road - telephone 747 7442.