Where is Santa? The Norad Tracker

Each year, since my kids have been old enough to understand how big the world is, we have joined the thousands of people tracking Santa Claus' travels on the Official Norad site. My kids love to see the places that he is traveling to...the North American Aerospace Defense Command has been tracking Santa for over 50 years now! (In fact, they're celebrating 55 years of tracking Santa this year!)

He moves fast! And, he's already making his trip around the world. If you've never been to this site before, you've got to start a new tradition with your kids! Hurry up and go check it out! He's already making his way around the world to deliver goodies to all of the "Good" little boys and girls!

How in the World Do They Track Santa?

According to the site:

"NORAD uses four high-tech systems to track Santa – radar, satellites, Santa Cams and fighter jets.
Tracking Santa starts with the NORAD radar system called the North Warning System. This powerful radar system consists of 47 installations strung across the northern border of North America. On December 24th, NORAD monitors the radar systems continuously for indications that Santa Claus has left the North Pole.
The moment that radar indicates Santa has lifted off, we use our second detection system. Satellites positioned in geo-synchronous orbit at 22,300 miles from the Earth’s surface are equipped with infrared sensors, which enable them to detect heat. Amazingly, Rudolph’s bright red nose gives off an infrared signature, which allows our satellites to detect Rudolph and Santa.

The third tracking system is the Santa Cam network. We began using it in 1998, which is the year we put our Santa Tracking program on the internet. Santa Cams are ultra-cool, high-tech, high-speed digital cameras that are pre-positioned at many locations around the world. NORAD only uses these cameras once a year. The cameras capture images and videos of Santa and his reindeer as they make their journey around the world.
The fourth system is made up of fighter jets. Canadian NORAD fighter pilots flying the CF-18 intercept and welcome Santa to North America. In the United States, American NORAD fighter pilots in either the F-15 or the F-16 get the thrill of flying alongside Santa and his famous reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and, of course, Rudolph."

Merry Christmas, everyone!