Santa must be real, he's on Google Earth

Track Santa Claus' Christmas Eve sleigh via Google Earth.

(Credit: Google)

As it has for the past four years, Google will be mapping Santa Claus' trek from the icy North Pole to rooftops around the globe on Christmas Eve. But this year, good girls and boys can track their gifts via mobile phones and Twitter, too.

Starting at 3 a.m. PST on Wednesday, a Google Map with Santa's current location will be displayed on the NORAD Santa Web site, operated by Google and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

Santa fans can also track his movements in 3D in Google Earth (download) by downloading a special NORAD Tracks Santa KML. iGoogle users can add a NORAD Tracks Santa gadget to their iGoogle page.

Google will be displaying high-resolution "Santa Cam" video of the gift-laden airborne sleigh. For locations without video, photos from Panoramio will be displayed in Google Maps.

And for the first time, people can track Santa's journey on mobile phones with Google Maps for Mobile and follow him on Twitter by adding "@noradsanta."

You can read the history of Google's Santa tracking efforts on the Official Google Blog.

Google became NORAD's official Santa Tracking technology partner last year. NORAD has been tracking Santa for about 50 years.

[Michichael]

Cute.

[AndrewRich]

Kind of lame that the KML file isn't available ahead of time. I'd like to have it now so I don't have to worry about remembering it later.

[sevenalive]

What a waste of tax payers money, why is NORAD doing this?

[zmjman08]

No doubt.
Aren't we supposed to be experiencing some disastrous economic crisis?

[jture]

Is your real name Scrooge? Lighten up!

[Dalkorian]

I'm betting they have a deal with Santa that reduces the costs of this endeavor.
;-)

[doomdiva]

The money comes from private funds. Scrooge.

[endurorob]

The guys doing this are on duty anyway so it takes extra people to do this little thing for the kids Mr. Scrooge.

[arcooper611]

dear santa, what i want for christmas is a pink toy 4-wheeler and a 7-yr old lifesize barbie doll....cuz i been good all year long and have a good christmas...
from,
Emily 2 Santa

[man290663]

Don't bother if you use OSX the page refuses to do anything other than download google earth and refuses to proceed to download the KML.

Whoever invented this page must not be aware something other than IE7 exists..

[quaglax]

First off...you guys up there whining and crying about this? WHO GIVES A SH**?! Its Christmas Eve god damnit! Quit being a bunch of scrooge's, go out with your families and CHILL OUT. I think its cute to be honest and have spent that past 30 mins watching Santa go all over Russia and Japan. Now...to the guy whining cause he cant get it to work on OSX. Mac schmack...sorry bro.

[Zeeshan47]

Worked with FF3, don't know what you're talking about.

[paul613]

One of my heroes is the child prodigy--a boy who entered college at age 12--who realized that Santa wasn't real when he noted, in his local library, that every book about Santa was on the shelf labeled Fiction.

[Boutdoors]

For the Mac User - open up your google earth and then open the KML file right in google earth. -';0)

As for Paul613, the child prodigy sounds pretty stuffy to me... maybe instead of spending ones life in books, one should take a walk outside and experience what living is all about.... enjoy friends, family, fun and laughter... after all "Santa" is the presence of mind and heart. If you missed that - it's pretty sad for you....

[pjhenry1216]

You sound somewhat offended by paul613's comment. At no point did he say the guy was stuffy nor did he say he never spent time outside. For his comment to hold water, the kid just had to step in a library once in his life. At no point did he say he lived in books. Whenever someone comments on how smart one is, there's always someone who says there's more to life than books. Its like they're trying to feel better about themselves or something. Nothing in paul613's comment made the kid out to be a bookworm or anything of that sort. Nothing said he didn't enjoy friends family fun or laughter. Those things weren't even implied. The fact that you inferred that seems kind of a knee-jerk reaction. "Santa" is not any sort of presence of mind and heart. You can have both of those and not believe in Santa.

I get annoyed when people get so defensive when someone mentions someone who skipped grades.

[ScaryMonkey69]

Screw Christmas! I cant wait for this wretched holiday to disappear.

[lyndar2]

For a few of us in the human race, Christmas is a very dark sad time. Lost loved ones, etc. Somehow the thought of children still believing that Santa is coming with his magical reindeer shines a bright light for a little while anyway. Thank you for keeping track of him!!

[SJ2571]

+1