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 Sun City:
33.597484, -112.272051
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 four communities that are also named Sun City.
Within Arizona, the name Sun City is unique.
Beyond Arizona, we know of four communities that are located in the United States.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
California
Riverside County
This Sun City is located in Riverside County and lies 283 miles [455.4 km]<1> to the west of the Sun City that is located in Maricopa County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Riverside County community of Sun City.
Florida
Hillsborough County
This Sun City is located in Hillsborough County and lies 1,809 miles [2,911.3 km]<1> to the east of the Sun City that is located in Maricopa County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Sun City.
Kansas
Barber County
This Sun City is located in Barber County and lies 794 miles [1,277.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Sun City that is located in Maricopa County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Barber County community of Sun City.
Texas
Williamson County
This Sun City is located in Williamson County and lies 872 miles [1,403.3 km]<1> to the east of the Sun City that is located in Maricopa County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Williamson County community of Sun City.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sun City ...
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.
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 Sun City to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sun City and extending to:
Phoenix, which is the Seat of Maricopa County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Sun City to Phoenix, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
Phoenix, which is the State Capital of Arizona, lies 15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast (SE). The buggy would take four to five hours and walking would take most of a day.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,983 miles [3,191.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take three full days, a buggy would take 78 days and walking would take 113 days.
The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,444 miles [11,980 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<4>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,209 miles [13,211.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,149 miles [9,895.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'
Footnotes ...
<1>
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- Sun City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>
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.
<3>
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 Sun City to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sun City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.5975, Longitude: -112.2721
<4>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 331.338 degrees.
<5>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 330.162 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 322.28 degrees.