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 Bel Air:
34.096314, -118.459334
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 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 Los Angeles County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
We found seventeen communities that share the name Bel Air.
Within California, the name Bel Air is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another seventeen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Alabama
Houston County
This Bel Air is located in Houston County and lies 1,921 miles [3,091.5 km]<1> to the east of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Houston County community of Bel Air.
Jefferson County
This Bel Air is located in Jefferson County and lies 1,813 miles [2,917.7 km] to the east of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Bel Air.
Mobile County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Bel Air [Mobile County].
Florida
Seminole County
This Bel Air is located in Seminole County and lies 2,209 miles [3,555 km]<1> to the east of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Seminole County community of Bel Air.
Georgia
Glynn County
This Bel Air is located in Glynn County and lies 2,146 miles [3,453.7 km]<1> to the east of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Glynn County community of Bel Air.
McIntosh County
This Bel Air is located in McIntosh County and lies 2,147 miles [3,455.3 km] to the east of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the McIntosh County community of Bel Air.
Kentucky
Clark County
This Bel Air is located in Clark County and lies 1,920 miles [3,089.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Bel Air.
Louisiana
Saint Tammany Parish
This Bel Air is located in Saint Tammany Parish and lies 1,693 miles [2,724.6 km]<1> to the east of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Tammany Parish community of Bel Air.
Maryland
Allegany County
This Bel Air is located in Allegany County and lies 2,203 miles [3,545.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegany County community of Bel Air.
Harford County
This Bel Air is located in Harford County and lies 2,336 miles [3,759.4 km] to the east northeast of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harford County community of Bel Air.
North Carolina
Nash County
This Bel Air is located in Nash County and lies 2,284 miles [3,675.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nash County community of Bel Air.
Scotland County
This Bel Air is located in Scotland County and lies 2,208 miles [3,553.4 km] to the east northeast of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scotland County community of Bel Air.
Tennessee
Maury County
This Bel Air is located in Maury County and lies 1,775 miles [2,856.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Maury County community of Bel Air.
Texas
Harrison County
This Bel Air is located in Harrison County and lies 1,390 miles [2,237 km]<1> to the east of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harrison County community of Bel Air.
Utah
Weber County
This Bel Air is located in Weber County and lies 601 miles [967.2 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weber County community of Bel Air.
Virginia
Fairfax County
This Bel Air is located in Fairfax County and lies 2,295 miles [3,693.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fairfax County community of Bel Air.
Stafford County
This Bel Air is located in Stafford County and lies 2,285 miles [3,677.4 km] to the east northeast of the Bel Air that is located in Los Angeles County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stafford County community of Bel Air.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bel Air ...
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 that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Bel Air to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bel Air and extending to:
Los Angeles, which is the Seat of Los Angeles County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Bel Air to Los Angeles, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 352 miles [566.5 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,303 miles [3,706.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 90 days and walking would take 131 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,569 miles [12,181.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,338 miles [13,418.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,330 miles [10,187.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Footnotes ...
<1>
Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bel Air) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bel Air. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.0963, Longitude: -118.4593
<2>
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 Bel Air 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.
<3>
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.
<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 Bel Air 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 336.425 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 336.372 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.757 degrees.