(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, in the hopes that St. Nicholas soon will be there… but where exactly is Santa Claus right now? You can find out by checking out the North American Aerospace Defense Command's Santa Tracker, also known as the NORAD Santa Tracker. On Christmas Eve at the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center, you can find about 1,000 people tracking Santa's every move to report back to the public. Although his sleigh moves very fast, their aircrafts move just as quickly. So their pilots get to see him in action. "So our aviators that are up there patrolling the skies, it's certainly an honor for them to be able to see Santa and tip their wings to him and give him a wave and wish him well," said Karen Pound, NORAD's Deputy Director of Strategy Policy and Plans. They also use other special Space Force technology like radars and satellites. "They have sensors that can track heat. Rudolph's nose is so bright and produces so much heat that our satellites are able to pinpoint where he is," said Pound. Located here in Colorado Springs, it all started back in 1955 when a local newspaper ad misprinted a phone number for a Santa hotline. "A little girl called the number, and it actually went to the unlisted Operations Center of the Continental Air Defense Command," said Pound. "A colonel answered the phone, and he didn't want to let the little girl down. So he was able to let her know where Santa was, and that was where the tradition was born. Now we've been doing it for 69 years." Although you can still call in to find out where Santa is (now in many different languages), it's evolved to include a website, apps, and social media accounts. "He always changes his route up a little bit," said Pound. "But we know in general he'll leave the North Pole and make his way over to the International Date Line and start kind of there. Then he'll kind of zigzag from north to south around the world to get to all the homes." It's arguably one of NORAD's most important operations, at least in the eyes of children everywhere. NORAD wants to remind everyone that Santa won't visit unless you're asleep, so if you're up late reading this, you better get to bed ASAP.