Where is Santa Right Now? Track Him With NORAD

As of 6:02 p.m. ET Santa was located in Trondheim, Norway, and getting ready to go to Netherlands, Amsterdam, according to the Google Earth and NORAD Santa Tracker 2011. He spends four minutes in every location.

NORAD has been tracking Santa's journey around the world since the start of Christmas Eve. He will be in the United States later tonight, but you can follow his journey here.

NORAD and the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have been tracking Santa's every movement since1955.

NORAD's Web site stated that in 1958 the governments of Canada and the U.S. created a bi-national air defense command for North America, which then took on the tradition of tracking Santa.

Since that time, NORAD men, women, family and friends have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to phone calls and emails from children all around the world, the Web site stated.

They now track Santa using the Internet so that millions who want to know where in the world Santa is and at what time, can visit the Web site to do so.

How They Track Santa

NORAD's Web site stated that tracking Santa starts with NORAD radar system called the North Warning System, which consists of 47 installations strung across the northern border of North America. Then on Dec. 24, NORAD continuously monitors the radar systems for indications that Santa has left the North Pole.

When the radar shows that Santa has left the North Pole, NORAD then use a second detection system to continue the tracking. They have satellites that are positioned away from the Earth's surface that have infrared sensors for detecting heat. Rudolph's red nose can be picked up by the satellites and so they can track all of Rudolph's and Santa's movement.

There is also a third tracking system called the Santa cam network, which NORAD began using in 1998. That was the same year the Santa Tracking program was put on the Internet, according to NORAD. Santa cams are pre-positioned at various locations around the world and NORAD only uses these cameras once every year.

The high-tech cameras capture images and videos of Santa and his reindeer as they journey around the world.

NORAD noted that the fourth system consists of fighter jets that fly alongside Santa and his reindeer Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph.

Once they have collected all the data on Dec. 24 it is then placed into the Google Maps and Google Earth for families all over the world to see.

Related Article: Santa Tracker 2011: 4 Tips and Tricks for Tracking Santa With NORAD [Live Stream]