Here’s how to find out what time Santa will fly over Derbyshire this Christmas Eve

This Christmas Eve, many of us would love to catch a glimpse of Father Christmas in the skies.
Will you be staying up to track Santa? (Photo: Shutterstock)Will you be staying up to track Santa? (Photo: Shutterstock)
Will you be staying up to track Santa? (Photo: Shutterstock)

Thanks to online technology, we’ve been able to track Santa’s movements for years. This how to keep an eye on his location as he makes his way to Derbyshire this Christmas Eve.

How to track Santa

There are a variety of ways you can choose to track Santa this Christmas - many people opt to use the NORAD Santa tracker website, which streams a live feed of Santa's movements across the globe, and has been doing so for many years.

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The NORAD Santa tracker website also boats a bunch of different features related to the festivities, including games, videos about Santa and a library feature where you can read about Santa.

You can track Santa this year using the NORAD Santa website, or by downloading its app on either iOS or Android.

The NORAD Santa tracker

The Santa tracker was born in 1955 when Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement accidentally misprinted the phone number for children to call Santa. Instead of getting through to Santa, children were instead put through to the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Commander in Chief operations hotline.

Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for signs of Santa flying south from the North Pole. Children who called the number were given updates on his location.

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In 1958, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was created which took on the tradition of Santa tracking from CONAD.

How does NORAD track Santa?

Keeping an eye on Santa's movement is no easy feat, but NORAD has access to the equipment needed to take on such a task.

The NORAD Santa tracker Twitter explained how they keep tabs on Saint Nick, “Our #NORAD satellites’ infrared sensors let us “see” the heat from missiles & the red glow from #Rudolphs nose! That’s how we track #Santa.”

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