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 McDonald - Slone Estates:
27.927600, -82.128200
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 Hillsborough County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
Curious and Interesting Names Near McDonald - Slone Estates ...
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.
Berry Landing (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berry Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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 McDonald - Slone Estates to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in McDonald - Slone Estates and extending to:
Tampa, which is the Seat of Hillsborough County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from McDonald - Slone Estates to Tampa, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 216 miles [347.6 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 811 miles [1,305.2 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 46 days.
The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,605 miles [10,629.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,272 miles [11,703.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,172 miles [8,323.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- McDonald - Slone Estates) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in McDonald - Slone Estates. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.9276, Longitude: -82.1282 In this case, the coordinates for McDonald - Slone Estates 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 McDonald - Slone Estates 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 310.653 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.019 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.791 degrees.