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(CNN) - He sees you when you sleep and knows when you're awake, but these days, we can also keep an eye on him.
Santa Claus has started his Christmas Eve trip delivering gifts all over the world and will soon move around the chimneys near you, according to the US military command. UU. responsible for protecting the airspace of North America.
NORAD radars detected Santa's sleigh leaving the North Pole just after 4 am ET on Tuesday morning, shortly after he reviewed his flight plan with his nine reindeer.
His first stops were in eastern Russia and Asia, just in time for Christmas day there.
The public can track Santa's trip by accessing the official NORAD Santa Tracker, and can also call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to speak live with the NORAD trackers.
CONTINUE LIVE Santa Claus's trip here.
"His magical journey around the world has begun," said the organization, which has been following Santa for more than 60 years.
The group uses infrared sensors to follow the glare of Rudolph's nose, which allows them to determine the location of his sled.
"We are proud to continue the tradition of tracking Santa while traveling along his flight path," NORAD commander Terrence O'Shaughnessy added in a press release that made sure to emphasize that tracking Santa is a “complementary mission,” and that protecting North America's airspace remains the “top priority” of NORAD.
Santa Claus did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comments.
The agency's annual mission began with a typo over half a century ago. On Christmas Eve 1955, a local Sears store in Colorado Springs published a Santa Claus ad. Except the number was a printing error; instead of listing the Santa de Sears hotline number, he published the Continental Air Defense Command center number.
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This led Colonel Harry Shoup to receive calls all night from children asking to speak with Santa Claus.
Instead of telling them that they dialed the wrong number, Shoup said he was not Santa Claus but could track him on the radar. Shoup and his team spent the rest of the night answering calls, giving details about Santa's location while he and his reindeer flew across the sky to deliver gifts to the children.
Today, tradition is possible thanks to a team of volunteers.
Christmas Santa Claus Santa Claus
