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 Olena:
40.785701, -90.938108
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 found two communities that share the name Olena.
Within Illinois, the name Olena is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Arkansas
Arkansas County
This Olena is located in Arkansas County and lies 446 miles [717.8 km]<1> to the south of the Olena that is located in Henderson County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas County community of Olena.
Ohio
Huron County
This Olena is located in Huron County and lies 438 miles [704.9 km]<1> to the east of the Olena that is located in Henderson County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Huron County community of Olena.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Olena ...
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.
Biggsville (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Biggsville 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 Olena to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Olena and extending to:
Oquawka, which is the Seat of Henderson County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Olena to Oquawka, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 96 miles [154.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 747 miles [1,202.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,356 miles [10,229 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,098 miles [11,423.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,985 miles [8,022.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Footnotes ...
<1>
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 from Point A (ie- Olena) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Olena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.7857, Longitude: -90.9381
<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 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 Olena 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 316.633 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.692 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.495 degrees.