One of the fun and geeky things I look forward to doing with my child next Christmas (he or she won’t be born till March) is tracking Santa Claus.
For the past 50 years, NORAD has been tracking him.
Before the age of the Google, children could call into a special telephone number on Christmas Eve, an Air Force officer would answer, and they be able to tell you where he is.
Now that we have the power of Google Maps, we are able to track him instantaneously!
This year, Google has gone the extra mile and added two new features.
First, you can now find Santa on your mobile phone by simply searching ‘Santa’ on the Google Maps app. Secondly, for a 3D version, open up Google Earth, install a 3D plugin (found here) and you can see him and his reindeer.
Watch this YouTube clip made by NORAD on this fun and festive app.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcTzRXlBcm4?hd=1&w=640&h=480]
They have a fun page on how they are able to track Santa, including using radar, satellites, and even F-22s. You can read all about that here.
For a youth pastor that works at the Air Force Academy so closely to NORAD, we will be watching closely to see his flight path that wonderful night.
[via NORADSanta.org]
[…] 29, 2011 by Jeremy Smith printWe did a guest post over at Churchm.ag you should check out. Here is a link to the full post and below is a snippet: One of the fun and geeky things I look forward to doing […]