How to use the NORAD Santa tracker:
Since we can remember, youngsters have been waiting up all night on December 24 in anticipation of seeing the big guy himself, thanks to the excitement of the holiday season.
For children everywhere, one of the most treasured aspects of the holidays is eagerly awaiting the appearance of Father Christmas and the gifts he will be leaving under the tree.
But in more recent times, Santa has gone digital, so kids can now follow his reindeer-drawn sleigh as it travels the world, making it simpler to find out where he is.
This year, almost half of all British children, those under the age of eight, will be tracking their progress online on Christmas Eve.
According to a recent survey conducted on behalf of Vodafone, 58% of parents whose kids believe in Father Christmas intend to use their phones and other gadgets to track his whereabouts.
Younger children will use a Santa tracker website or app to follow him as he travels around the nation, and they may even expect to see him on their Ring doorbell stream (with a little parental assistance) or receive a video greeting directly from Santa himself.
Using websites like the NORAD tracker, millions of enthusiastic children will trace the travels of the bearded benefactor.
There are an estimated 7 million children under the age of eight in the UK, and they will be watching with excitement and hope as eight is the typical age at which children quit believing in Santa.
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What is the Santa tracker for NORAD?
Every year, the route of the cheerful bearded guy is monitored by NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
The United States and Canada work together to form NORAD, an organization that protects the continent 365 days a year from possible aviation attacks.
Santa was first tracked in 1955 by the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), its predecessor.
When NORAD took over from CONAD in 1958, they began tracking Santa’s global trip and have continued to do so annually ever since.
NORAD monitors all aircraft, missiles, space launches, and other flying objects on or around the North American continent for twenty-four hours every day.
They undertake the monumental task of pursuing Saint Nicholas on Christmas Eve on behalf of all the anxious people curled up in bed.
According to their website, “NORAD continues to track Santa, even though the tradition of tracking Santa began purely by accident.”
“Only our organization possesses the necessary technology, qualifications, and personnel to complete the task.” And we adore it! The distinction of becoming Santa’s official tracker falls to NORAD.
It also says that “NORAD concludes that Santa likely weighs around 260 pounds and stands about 5 feet 7 inches tall based on flight profile data gathered from its radar and satellite tracking.”(before cookies).
“We know he has a generous girth (belly), rosy cheeks from sleigh riding in cold weather, and a flowing white beard based on fighter-aircraft photos.”
How is the Santa Tracker operated by NORAD?
Every year, more than 1,250 NORAD employees participate in the Santa Tracker program, fielding calls and emails about Santa’s whereabouts.
AGI/Ansys’s simulation software powers the entire operation.
“NoRAD can safely track Santa as he travels around the world thanks to Ansys simulation software,” aerospace engineer Adam Gorski of Ansys Government Initiatives told Space.com.
Ansys simulations guarantee that radars can monitor Santa’s sleigh high in the sky and that NORAD satellites can sense the heat from Rudolph’s nose.
“Santa’s elves use our simulations to help them with some aerodynamic analysis that they do on designs of his sleigh throughout the year.”
How can I use NORAD to locate Santa’s location?
All you have to do is visit the NORAD website on Christmas Eve and use the map to follow along.
Starting around 4 a.m. MST on December 24th, the NORAD Tracks Santa
The operations center will be fully operational.
Instead of consulting a map, you may give Kris Kringle a call to find out where he is right now so you can hear it with your own ears as he travels the globe to cheer up kids worldwide.
To speak with a NORAD employee directly and get Santa’s precise position, dial 1 877 HI-NORAD (1 877 446-6723). Operators are on duty till midnight.
According to the website, volunteers and the “generous support of corporate licensees who bear virtually all of the costs” are responsible for making this all possible.
According to the Vodafone poll, 90% of UK people who celebrate the holiday season will use their mobile devices to stay in touch with friends and family on Christmas Day, in addition to those who are tracking Santa.
Though some will be interacting with individuals considerably closer to home, with one in ten living on the same street, a staggering 67% of people will be doing so with people in another part of the nation and 33% overseas.
During the holiday season, those who have connected devices will also use them to snap pictures, access online specials like Boxing Day discounts, and handle their money.
The study is released at the same time as Vodafone reports that, via collaboration with organizations like The Trussell Trust and Good Things Foundation, it has assisted two million enterprises and individuals that are digitally excluded in bridging the digital gap.
This Christmas, you can help the campaign by participating in Elf & Seek, an augmented reality game that allows users to deliver one of 50,000 SIM cards—donated by Vodafone as part of its “everyone connected” program—to individuals in need.
Additional prizes up for grabs include weekends away, Nintendo Switch consoles, Lavazza coffee makers, entertainment bundles, and Amazon gift cards. One lucky winner will get an all-inclusive family winter sun trip to Tenerife.
This Christmas, 25% of people want to give someone a connected gadget; computers, tablets, and smartphones are the most popular choices.
‘Around Vodafone, we’re committed to addressing the digital gap all year round, and around Christmas, we know that staying connected to loved ones is more vital than ever,’ stated Nicki Lyons, Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer at Vodafone UK. By the end of 2025, we hope to have assisted two million individuals and companies in bridging the digital gap. We take great pride in this accomplishment.
