The Difference Between a Meteor and a Sleigh

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Trackers of Sector 5,

Over the past 15 hours or so we have received a good number of sleigh sighting reports. This has mostly come from the Northern USA and Canada.

The test flights of Santa’s sleigh have ended (for now) but there are plenty of sleigh aloft due to Operation Airlift. (Not as many as will be airborne on Christmas Eve, but still there are many sleighs up there). We really appreciate you keeping an eye on the skies.

But in researching these sightings and trying to match them up with flight records at North Pole Flight Command we have determined that some of these sightings are actually of meteors and not of sleighs. In fact, we have it on good authority that right now – from the last several days until at least December 24th – areas of our sector are experiencing the last Ursids Meteor shower of the year. This is a picture of what that meteor shower looks like in areas that have clear skies:

Meteor

Something like that could easily be mistaken for a flying sleigh.

We have no criticism for those sending in pictures like this or reporting a sleigh sighting. We appreciate, in fact, your diligence right now in watching the skies.

How might you be able to distinguish between a meteor and a sleigh?

Honestly, you might not. It just depends on how close or how far away you are from it and maybe even the equipment you’re using to try and capture an image.

If it is close enough, you may see actual lights on a sleigh or even hear sleigh bells.

Of course, you’d get none of that with a meteor.

I’m not sharing this with you to dissuade you from watching and documenting the skies. I’m just letting you know some of these things you’re seeing might not be actual sleighs.

The odds of seeing a sleigh in flight is going up. By the time Santa launches there will literally be thousands of sleighs in flight and that continues all during the 30+ hours of Santa’s flight. So if you WANT to see a flying sleigh and you WANT to dedicate the time to doing it the chances of getting good results only improve over the next couple of days.

You might want to see what local weather forecasters are saying about the visibility of meteor showers in your area before you look to the skies. Be informed.

Thanks and happy hunting!

All Elves on Alert Status

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Per plan and as scheduled, North Pole Flight Command has put all elves in all departments worldwide on alert status.

Alert status means that the next phase of Operation Merry Christmas is in process and that all elves need to be actively coming to North Pole websites with regularity to stay informed and to be ready for direction from their elf supervisors.

While we are still about 24-hours away from checking-in for Tracking Santa for Santa it is hoped that you can visit frequently with your Sector news page in advance of that event.

While major announcements are not expected at this time we want all elves to be eyes up and ready for anything.

Thank you for your ongoing efforts to support Santa and Operation Merry Christmas!

Weather Reports Needed

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Hello Elves of Sector 1 –

Is anyone else getting excited? Santa’s launch is so close now.

North Pole Flight Command has been pretty quiet with me about information they need from our sector. Since we don’t have as many chimneys in our sector as the other sectors, and because we track Santa in most of our sector during summertime, the report needs they have from us are different.

But today I actually got a request I really want us to respond to. So, if you’re in Sector 1, please do this.

Flight Command is asking for a fresh weather report from All Areas of our Sector – no matter where you are. They are particularly concerned about Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan and Guam – for whatever reason. So please send in a weather report TODAY, TOMORROW, and the NEXT DAY – first thing in the morning local time.

Also, some other news. NPFC is going to send an update on the deployment of the North Pole Navy. I don’t know what it is but it will evidently impact our sector. Maybe some time today we’ll see that news on their website.

And, finally, I received a note from the Office of Mrs. Claus. They are asking for any trackers who can provide photos of local Christmas displays – Christmas lights, trees, outdoor decorations, etc. They want these for some sort of presentation about Christmas in warm weather. If you have the time, please share any photos you might have via a photo report.

Thanks – R

Lets See Your Home Tracking Center

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Greetings, Trackers.

In our daily bulletin from North Pole Flight Command the Elf Supervisors received a weird request for pictures of home tracking centers.

Evidently a surprising number of elves showed up at the Community Center at Southern North Pole University to hear a lecture by Elf Dr. Grant Smedley about the “History and How-To of Home Santa Tracking”. Elf Flip Beanz was there to share the current status of remote working elves like you and the class got a little off track when they started asking questions about tracking Santa away from the North Pole. Those elves in attendance were fascinated by the work you do and want to see the environment in which you track Santa.

So they’ve asked for pictures.

If you can snap a photo of your set-up home tracking center and share it via the Elf Wall, that would be great. You can also send it in via a Photo Report.

Also, one other little reminder. We have NOT asked for “official” tracker check-in for this weekend YET. But some of you are finding the page and checking in early.

Please do NOT do that. During this week of launch it is critical these reports come in when we call for them. Sometime on Friday, when authorized by Flight Command, I will post a call for all trackers to check in (each Elf Supervisor is going to do that). There is an order to this. In fact, there a whole launch sequence that our check-in is part of. So its real important you only check in when I tell you to, okay?

Thanks guys! Make it a great day!

 

Possible Sleigh Activities Over Sector 3

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North Pole Flight Command has informed us that we could see sleigh activity in the skies of Sector 3, particular over Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and parts of western Russia, in the later evening hours local time.

If you do observe any sleighs in the skies, please use the Sleigh Sighting Report.

Evidently the sleighs are an early part of Operation Airlift. They say they are scout teams. We don’t know for sure what they are scouting but they will be over our skies for at least the next “day or two”.

No other alerts or needs are known for Sector 3.

Please check back frequently.

Iceland Tracking Center Stays Open

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More than a week ago North Pole Flight Command announced that the Regional Tracking Center located in Vik, Iceland was re-opening.

Yesterday the anticipated eruption of a volcano located more than 130 miles away from the Vik Center happened.

The North Pole State Department is working with Icelandic authorities through this situation. Local authorities as well are in touch with leadership staff at the Regional Tracking Center there. They have determined that no evacuation is necessary.

They will continue to monitor events but it is not anticipated there will be any reason to close the center.

The Vik Center will operate with the assistance of the remote office set up in Norway weeks ago, as well as in coordination with the SS Donner, now stationed in the North Atlantic.

We are fully staffed and processing tracker reports at a normal level.

We do not anticipate any disruption to our normal operations. We thank those elves in Sector 3 who have expressed concerns during this period of breaking news. We’re okay.

Focus on China

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Trackers of Sector 2,

A review of our sector and the reports and information so far received this year shows a real lack of depth for China.

We know there are not a TON of believers in China. However, it is the most populous country in the world and there are more believers there than many realize. For the record, we have more than 250,000 freelance and North Pole trackers there. So we CAN do better.

If you’re there and available we can use the following reports as soon as you can get them in FROM ANY CHINESE CITY:

Thank you for your help!

Tracker Check-in Scheduled

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Attentional All Tracker Elves in All Sectors,

We are pleased and excited to announce that Tracker Elf check-ins will begin on the following schedule:

(All dates and hours are local time)

Sector 1: December 22nd at 11:00pm Fiji Time
Sector 2: December 22nd at 7:00pm Turkmenistan Time
Sector 3: December 22nd at 8:00pm Iceland Time
Sector 4: December 22nd at 10:00pm Aruba Time
Sector 5: December 22nd at 9:30pm Eastern Time

You need not check-in at these precise times. These are just times we want check-ins to being in each sector. Please do not do so before the times listed above. This is VERY important.

We prefer all elves to check-in within 24 hours of the times listed above.

Check-ins are just the first of many things we anticipate needing from trackers. Launch time weather around the world looks problematic so the first half of Santa’s flight is expected to be very active.

Please keep an eye on your Sector News page. If you don’t know how to find your sector news page, please comment below.

Thanks!

Hackers Target Sector 4

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Greetings from the Regional Tracking Center in Aruba,

It appears today is our turn. After enjoying a quiet weekend our servers here at the Regional Tracking Center are under siege. Fortunately, and thanks to safeguards put in place by North Pole Security, the worse thing that has happened so far is a slight slow down in how our Internet here is working.

We are still receiving reports from trackers and the flow of information and communication from North Pole Flight Command appears uninterrupted.

We are experiencing some issues related to solar activity up in Greenland. That’s more of a localized situation, and the expert tell us it is not related to our hack attempts coming out of China.

At this present time, I do not have any new reporting needs to request of you.

You can anticipate that come late Wednesday of this week the call for more Weather Reports will likely increase.

Please keep your eye on the news. There are rumblings that elf check-in for tracking Santa may be moved up a little this year. We should learn more on our Elf Supervisor call with Flight Command tomorrow.

Thanks!

Stick to News and Reports

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Elves,

Please stick to using the site right now JUST for news and sending in reports. A LOT is going on and we need your cooperation.

Elf Max is working to restore a working Elf Wall and he’s attempting to do this while the site is “up”. If he closes it down, nobody gets the news. But, he’s working on live pages – things that some of you are accessing, such as the Elf Wall, which he’s working on.

It is creating issues.

Max says he can get things rolling if he just gets some time. But if we’re conflicting with his efforts by using the very features he’s working on. I do NOT want to shut the site down so Max can do this. This week is too important.

So please help and give Max room to do his job.

For now, please just check the news (you can comment on articles and ask questions there for now) and send in tracker reports. All the links you need are in the top menu.

Thanks,

Power Lost at Sector 2 HQ

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Greetings from Turkmenistan, where here at the Regional Tracking Center we are operating now on back-up generators. Power went out a few hours ago and local authorities are working to restore it.

We have been told this is due to a “computer glitch”, not some physical event such as a storm or a traffic accident.

The immediate question, which has not been answered, is whether or not this is related to the hacks taken against SantaTrackers.net and Sector 5 servers. North Pole Security says it is highly likely.

We have been told efforts have been ongoing to improve back-end security for all computers in Sectors 1, 3 and 4 now as a result.

Back-up generators will keep us in business up to 72-hours. We will maintain normal operations in the mean time but we are under advisory from North Pole Flight Command to take restrictive measures if our power outage lasts longer than 24 hours. Therefore, arrangements have been made with Sector 3 to re-direct reports through so that North Pole Flight Command does not lose data needed for Santa’s flight. The SS Frosty, headed for the Bay of Bengal, will also serve in the same way if needed.

For Trackers in Sector 2 please continue with your usual reporting. Check in frequently for updates. We’ll keep you posted.

News You Don’t Have to Talk About

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We were notified late Saturday that groups are popping up on social media for “Santa Trackers”.

This isn’t anything new. But what is new is that some of these groups on Facebook, X, Snapchat and TikTok do appear to belong to some of our legitimate tracker elves.

We want you to know that’s okay. We, in fact, encourage “spreading the word” through social media and other channels.

But there is news you don’t have to talk about.

You are elves. We have talked about this before. You know things. Things that likely the rest of the world doesn’t know.

And as we’ve discussed, there are some things the rest of the world does not need to know about the North Pole and our current situation.

All this news about hackers and trolls taking down North Pole networks and computer systems is a good example of news you do not need to share.

Why?

I mean, after all, if we’re telling you here on SantaTrackers.net what is going on isn’t that telling the world? So why not share it, right?

Well, no.

We tell you because you need to know what’s happening. Especially this week. You guys are the star of the show. You are helping Santa get around the world. This is your time to shine.

But….you need to be discretionary about the news you share.

The rest of the world doesn’t need to know we are enduring cyber attacks. They could find out, but it’s not news we really want out there.

Why?

Because the forces against Santa and Christmas are many. There are people out there presently doing nothing to stop Operation Merry Christmas who may see this news and say, “Hey, I want to do that too!”.

It’s called a copycat crime. The bad guys pile it on.

So, if you can’t or shouldn’t be spreading news of these our current troubles what news can you share?

Friends, let’s follow Santa’s lead and stay focused on our mission: spread news that is cheerful:

1. Santa is coming, he launches in just days.
2. Nothing can stop Santa from coming. Nothing.
3. Santa has delivered every Christmas without fail for several hundred years.
4. Santa has a new sleigh and it’s the fastest in history.

Please don’t take everything we share with you and share it with everyone else. Think about the message you are sending. Think about those, especially the young ones, who are struggling with their belief in Santa and Christmas. Send messages of hope and good anticipation.

This Christmas may or may not go down in history to be remembered as a rough one. Up until this latest weirdness with cyber attacks it’s been a perfect year. Don’t you think that a perfect year is better news than hackers?

Use your better judgement over the next several days elves.