|
Tidbits & Trivia
Introduction ...
Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Narita.
Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Narita, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Narita and the surrounding area.
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- 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 Narita:
- 39.983098, -89.218978<1>
- 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.
- Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Narita
- Bird Watching ...
- 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 Logan County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Logan County
- Since Narita is near Macon County and also Sangamon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Macon County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Sangamon County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Narita
Curious and Interesting Names Near Narita ...
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.
- Buffalo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Chestervale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Chestervale is also located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestervale
- Chestnut
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Cornland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Elkhart
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hallsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hallsville is located in De Witt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsville
- Harristown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Fork
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lanesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lanesville is located in Sangamon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesville
- Lincoln
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Narita to ...
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 included the distance from a community such as Narita to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Narita and extending to:
- Lincoln, which is the Seat of Logan County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<3> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Narita to Lincoln, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 26 miles [41.8 km] to the west southwest (WSW). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 653 miles [1,050.9 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,333 miles [10,192 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,070 miles [11,378.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,951 miles [7,967.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Footnotes ...
| <1> | GPS Coordinates for Narita:
Decimal: 39.98309, -89.218978
DDMMSS: 39° 58' 59", -89° 13' 8" |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Narita) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Narita 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 Narita. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.9831, Longitude: -89.2190 In this case, the coordinates for Narita have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.47 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.248 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.856 degrees. |
|
|