Tracking Santa?

Does anyone know the best links to track Santa on radar for the kids (and the young at heart)?

I have only found the Norad site.


Thanks,

Makeitso


[edit on 12/24/05 by makeitso]

that is quality and the link has now been ditributed on e-mail to all my friends, family and co-workers!!

I especially like the following:

NORAD uses four high-tech systems to track Santa - radar, satellites, Santa Cams and jet fighter aircraft.

It all starts with the NORAD radar system called the North Warning System. This powerful radar system has 47 installations strung across Canada's North and Alaska. NORAD makes a point of checking the radar closely for indications of Santa Claus leaving the North Pole on Christmas Eve.

The moment our radar tells us that Santa has lifted off, we begin to use the same satellites that we use in providing warning of possible missile launches aimed at North America. These satellites are located in a geo-synchronous orbit (that's a cool phrase meaning that the satellite is always fixed over the same spot on the Earth) at 22,300 miles above the Earth. The satellites have infrared sensors, meaning they can see heat. When a rocket or missile is launched, a tremendous amount of heat is produced - enough for the satellites to see them. Rudolph's nose gives off an infrared signature similar to a missile launch. The satellites can detect Rudolph's bright red nose with practically no problem. With so many years of experience, NORAD has become good at tracking aircraft entering North America, detecting worldwide missile launches and tracking the progress of Santa, thanks to Rudolph.

The third system we use is the Santa Cam. We began using it in 1998 - the year we put our Santa Tracking program on the Internet. NORAD Santa Cams are ultra-cool high-tech high-speed digital cameras that are pre-positioned at many places around the world. NORAD only uses these cameras once a year - Christmas Eve. We turn the cameras on about one hour before Santa enters a country then switch them off after we capture images of him and the Reindeer. We immediately download the images on to our web site for people around the world see. Santa Cams produce both video and still images.

The last system we use is the NORAD jet fighter. Canadian NORAD fighter pilots, flying the CF-18, take off out of Newfoundland to intercept and welcome Santa to North America. Then at numerous locations in Canada other CF-18 fighter pilots escort Santa, while in the United States American NORAD fighter pilots in either the F-15 or F-16 get the thrill of flying with Santa and the famous Reindeer Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph. About a dozen NORAD fighters in Canada and the United States are equipped with Santa Cams.

Apparently you can also use Google Earth to track Santa too.

googleblog.blogspot.com...




I dont have it. :shk:

glad Santa hasn't made into Florida yet, the cookies are still in the oven!!!

Merry Christmas

Just a quick bump.

Tis the season again.

Can you believe its that time again?
In just a few hours Norad will start tracking Santa!

Looks like the Norad link to track Santa has changed this year.

The kids had a bit of fun doing the naughty-or-nice questionaire to find out which list they were on.

Unfortunatly it looks like Google earth is a requirement this year.
I don't have that installed.

Guess I'll be looking for a different way to track Santa this year.

Anyway, heres a cute story about how Norad began tracking Santa.

Tracking Santa, then and now

It was more than half a century ago, on Christmas Eve in 1955, that a Sears Roebuck & Co. store in Colorado Springs advertised a special hotline number for kids to call Santa. What the company didn't know at the time was that they had inadvertently misprinted the telephone number. Instead of Santa's workshop, the phone number put kids through to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the bi-national U.S.-Canadian military organization responsible for the aerospace defense of the U. S. and Canada.

Worse, it wasn't just any number at NORAD: it was the commander-in-chief's operations hotline. In the spirit of the season, Colonel Harry Shoup, the director of operations at the time, had his staff check radar data for any indication of a sleigh making its way south from the North Pole. They found that indeed there were signs of Santa, and merrily gave the children who called an update on his location. Thus, a tradition was born, and NORAD has continued to help children track Santa on Christmas Eve ever since.

Merry xmas everyone!!!

This happens from the base in my city, it truly is the best site.
Link from Local newspaper!
northbaynugget.ca...

I ran into Santa in the mall. I had to give him 320 dollars for little brothers Sidekick LX. I hope he remembers to drop it off. If not, we're fighting.



I'm pretty sure Santa is going to hook me up with a Glock 23, myself.

Personally, I'm a big fan of the guy.