Getty Santa is getting ready for Christmas.
Christmas is almost here! Christmas Eve is one of the most exciting nights of the year. It means that Santa is coming soon! Of course, you’ll want to keep a close eye on where Santa is as he journeys across the world tonight. You can track Santa live for Christmas 2021 with the help of NORAD.
How to Track Santa via NORAD’s Map in 2020
Where is Santa right now? If you want to track Santa live, the best place to start is with NORAD’s live Santa tracker. Just go to NORAD’s website to find out exactly where Santa is right now.
You can also call 1-877-HI-NORAD to learn where he is.
NORAD’s mobile apps provide another fun way to keep tabs on where Santa is. You can download the NORAD Tracks Santa Google app here. NORAD noted in a comment: “Starting at 0900 Dec 24, 2021 (UTC) you can track Santa via our mobile app or website!”
NORAD’s iOS Santa Tracker for Apple can be downloaded here.
NORAD has tracked Santa for more than 60 years every Christmas Eve. The Santa Tracker began when a SEARS Roebuck & Co. ad included a top-secret number to the predecessor of NORAD, the Continental Air Defense Command. A little girl called and spoke to Director of Operations Colonel Harry Shoup, who told her he could help her locate Santa. The Colonel instructed his staff to help pinpoint Santa’s location for similar calls that Christmas Eve of 1955. NORAD has kept the tradition going ever since.
You can learn more about NORAD’s history with Santa in the video below.
NORAD has also been providing a lot of fun videos leading up to the big tracking Santa day. Here’s a video that asks, “Do you need to be asleep when Santa arrives?”
Last year we got a glimpse of Santa’s reindeer getting ready. Check it out!
By the way, did you know that the radar system used to track Santa and Rudolph is called the North Warning System? Rudolph’s nose gives off an infrared signature that helps satellites better track Santa, WUSA9 reported. It’s similar in strength to the flash from a rocket launch! This allows Santa’s location to be easily detected, since Rudolph’s nose shines so brightly on the radar.
WUSA9 also reported that Canadian NORAD fighter jets always take off and welcome Santa to North America, escorting him at various points along his journey. In the United States, fighter pilots also fly alongside Santa and his reindeer too. Santa slows down his pace when a fighter jet is escorting him, because he can actually travel much faster than those jets if he wants to.
NORAD explains below how Santa travels the world in one night.
And in this next video, you can learn how fast Santa’s sleigh is!
Other Ways to Track Santa
You can also track Santa via Google if that’s your preference. Google’s Santa Tracker is here. Just remember: Santa’s location might appear different on Google and NORAD because of space-time continuum issues. Until Santa takes off, Google’s tracker has some games you can play.
Sky Q and Sky Glass customers can track Santa via their TVs by asking “Where’s Santa” or “Where’s Father Christmas” into the Sky Q remote, Express reported.
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