Tim Peake apologised to the lady via Twitter 
 
 British astronaut Tim Peake gave an unsuspecting woman a shock after dialling the wrong number and saying: "Hello, is this planet Earth?" 
 
 Major Peake, who is spending six months on the International Space Station, has apologised and insisted it was not a prank call. 
 
 Tim Peake took this picture of Earth on Christmas Eve 
 
 After the gaffe he tweeted: "I'd like to apologise to the lady I just called by mistake saying 'Hello, is this planet Earth?' - not a prank call ... just a wrong number!" 
 
 Britons were offered a glimpse of the ISS as it soared 250 miles above the Earth. 
 
 Play video "Tim Peake's Space Somersault" Video: Tim Peake's Space Somersault 
 
 From southern England, it appeared in the West at about 4.24pm on Christmas Day. 
 
 Robin Scagell, vice-president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said: "The space station's maximum elevation will be about 23 degrees viewed from London, which is just above the rooftops. 
 
 "It will be the brightest star in the sky, moving rapidly from west to east. 
 
 Play video "Peake Holds First News Conference" Video: Peake Holds First News Conference 
 
 "You might think it's a plane to start with, but you'd hear the engine noise of an aircraft that close and of course the space station is silent. 
 
 "So we'll be able to see a different object flying over the rooftops on Christmas Day." 
 
 A full moon is also making an appearance - the first time it has happened on Christmas Day in 38 years. 

 I'd like to apologise to the lady I just called by mistake saying 'Hello, is this planet Earth?' - not a prank call...just a wrong number! 

 Story highlights "Hello, is this planet Earth?" Peake asks miscellaneous woman 
 
 Astronaut tweets apology, saying it was no prank 
 
 (CNN) Earth to astronaut Tim Peake: Check the phone number before you dial. Otherwise the person you reach is likely to think you're some kind of nut case. 
 
 UK astronaut Tim Peake boards the Soyuz spacecraft. 
 
 Peake is a British astronaut who arrived at the International Space Station on December 15. He is spending six months there, conducting scientific experiments. 
 
 Recently, he phoned home -- as in Earth -- but got the number wrong. 
 
 "Hello, is this planet Earth?" Peake asked. 
 
 When he realized he'd misdialed, Peake tweeted his regret. 
 
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– Everyone has picked up the phone to find a flustered mis-dialer on the line, but it's not every day that that wrong number was punched in from space. British astronaut Tim Peake took to Twitter on Thursday to apologize for what could pass for the most prominent telephone misfire of all time, reports CNN. "I'd like to apologise to the lady I just called by mistake saying 'Hello, is this planet Earth?' - not a prank call...just a wrong number!" he tweeted. Peake arrived on the International Space Station on Dec. 15, and he's got some time to hone his dialing skills—he'll be there for six months, notes Sky News. (Meanwhile, planet Earth gets to observe a full moon on Christmas for the first time since 1977.)