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Norad Tracks Santa background

3D model of Santa, his red sleigh, and eight reindeer flying over green, gray, and brown terrain in CesiumJS in the NORAD Tracks Santa app. The scene includes snowflakes and a dark sky.

What is Cesium?

Cesium is a software platform for building applications and experiences with 3D geospatial data.

Cesium powers thousands of applications like NORAD Tracks Santa across industries like aerospace, AEC (architecture, engineering & construction), energy, commercial real estate, and defense.

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NORAD Tracks Santa

Provider of NORAD Tracks Santa 3D tech since 2012

NORAD Tracks Santa app, powered by CesiumJS. Santa and his reindeer fly over Earth. Snow is falling, and the sky is dark.

How do we track Santa?

We begin with data collected from NORAD, an organization that defends North America by tracking objects flying in and around its airspace. This geospatial data is updated on CesiumJS, a highly precise virtual globe consisting of 3D terrain and satellite imagery that accurately reflects the light from the sun and the position of the stars. We then combine the data with the virtual CesiumJS globe and a 3D model of Santa’s sleigh to enable millions of people to visualize Santa’s location in real time.

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Cesium plane in CesiumJS

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