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 Dobson:
32.473403, -111.292329
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.
We found five communities that share the name Dobson.
Within Arizona, the name Dobson is unique.
Beyond Arizona, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Kansas
Johnson County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Dobson [Johnson County].
Kentucky
Johnson County
This Dobson is located in Johnson County and lies 1,638 miles [2,636.1 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Dobson that is located in Pima County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Johnson County community of Dobson.
Mississippi
Rankin County
This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi community of Dobson [Rankin County].
North Carolina
Surry County
This Dobson is located in Surry County and lies 1,754 miles [2,822.8 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Dobson that is located in Pima County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Surry County community of Dobson.
South Carolina
Spartanburg County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Carolina community of Dobson [Spartanburg County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Dobson ...
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.
Flowing Wells (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flowing Wells have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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 Dobson to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Dobson and extending to:
Tucson, which is the Seat of Pima County, lies 27 miles [43.5 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Dobson to Tucson, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
Phoenix, which is the State Capital of Arizona, lies 81 miles [130.4 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,959 miles [3,152.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take three full days, a buggy would take 77 days and walking would take 112 days.
The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,484 miles [12,044.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,247 miles [13,272.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,175 miles [9,937.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Footnotes ...
<1>
If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.
Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.
Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.
Also keep in mind that Dobson could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
<2>
Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dobson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dobson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.4734, Longitude: -111.2923 In this case, the coordinates for Dobson have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<3>
We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Dobson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>
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.
<5>
While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>
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.
<7>
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 Dobson to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 330.39 degrees.
<9>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 328.914 degrees.
<10>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 321.763 degrees.