Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ras, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ras and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ras
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
- To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Ras:
- 32.049689, -89.135419
- Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Ras
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Jasper County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jasper County
- Since Ras is near Smith County and also Newton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Smith County
- eBird sighting report for Newton County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ras ...
As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
- Acme ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Burns ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Fellowship ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fellowship have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowship
- Fellowship is located in Jasper County
- Former name for Fellowship:
- Masengale
- Fellowship has also been known as:
- Old Fellowship
- Hamlet ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
- Hamlet is located in Jasper County
- Jewells Hill ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jewells Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewells Hill
- Jewells Hill is located in Jasper County
- Mulberry
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - New Fellowship
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Fellowship have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Fellowship
- New Fellowship is located in Jasper County
- Orange
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Orange is located in Jasper County
- Rose Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Rose Hill is located in Jasper County
- Stringer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringer
- Stringer is located in Jasper County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stringer <2>
- Success ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Ras to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Ras to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Ras and extending to:
- Bay Springs, which is the Seat of Jasper County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ras to Bay Springs, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Jackson, which is the State Capital of Mississippi, lies 63 miles [101.4 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 827 miles [1,330.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 47 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,719 miles [10,813.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,429 miles [11,955.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,305 miles [8,537.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ras. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Mississippi: https://www.ms.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ras) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ras. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.0497, Longitude: -89.1354 |
| <4> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <5> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Ras to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.974 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.59 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.515 degrees. |