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 Van Ness:
33.982514, -118.319520
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 one communities that share the name Van Ness.
Within California, the name Van Ness is unique.
Beyond California, there is another community also named Van Ness in the United States.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Nevada
Nye County
This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of Van Ness [Nye County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Van Ness ...
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.
Cypress Grove (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cypress Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Van Ness to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Van Ness and extending to:
Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 363 miles [584.2 km]<4> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Van Ness to Sacramento, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 21 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 15 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,298 miles [3,698.3 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,573 miles [12,187.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,342 miles [13,425.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,332 miles [10,190.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Footnotes ...
<1>
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 Van Ness, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>
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.
<3>
While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>
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- Van Ness) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Van Ness. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.9825, Longitude: -118.3195 In this case, the coordinates for Van Ness have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>
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.
<6>
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 Van Ness to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 336.292 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 336.203 degrees.
<9>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.674 degrees.