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 Hallelujah Junction:
39.775462, -120.039368
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.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Hallelujah Junction ...
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 Hallelujah Junction to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Hallelujah Junction and extending to:
Susanville, which is the Seat of Lassen County, lies 54 miles [86.9 km]<2> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Hallelujah Junction to Susanville, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 113 miles [181.9 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,274 miles [3,659.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 89 days and walking would take 130 days.
The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,240 miles [11,651.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,008 miles [12,887.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,052 miles [9,739.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
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>
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- Hallelujah Junction) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hallelujah Junction. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7755, Longitude: -120.0394 In this case, the coordinates for Hallelujah Junction have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<3>
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.
<4>
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 Hallelujah Junction to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<5>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 338.415 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 339.117 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.683 degrees.