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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Orion, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Orion 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 Orion:
- 41.352559, -90.376659
- 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 Orion
- 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 Henry County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Henry County
- Since Orion is near Mercer County and also Rock Island County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Mercer County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Rock Island 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 Orion
Communities Also Named Orion ...
We found thirteen communities that are also named Orion.
Within Illinois, the name Orion is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of thirteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Pike County
- This Orion is located in Pike County and lies 692 miles [1,113.7 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Orion that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pike County community of Orion.
- Alberta
- This Orion lies 1,132 miles [1,821.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Orion that is located in Henry County.
- Arkansas
- Grant County
- This Orion is located in Grant County and lies 485 miles [780.5 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Orion that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grant County community of Orion.
- California
- Kings County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Orion [Kings County].
- Indiana
- Kosciusko County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Indiana community of Orion [Kosciusko County].
- Kansas
- Cloud County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Orion [Cloud County].
- Gove County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Orion [Gove County].
- Minnesota
- Olmsted County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Orion [Olmsted County].
- Mississippi
- Marshall County
- This Orion is located in Marshall County and lies 459 miles [738.7 km]<1> to the south of the Orion that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marshall County community of Orion.
- Nevada
- Nye County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Nye County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nye County community of Orion.
- North Carolina
- Ashe County
- This Orion is located in Ashe County and lies 590 miles [949.5 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Orion that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ashe County community of Orion.
- Oklahoma
- Major County
- This Orion is located in Major County and lies 574 miles [923.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Orion that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Major County community of Orion.
- Wisconsin
- Richland County
- This Orion is located in Richland County and lies 127 miles [204.4 km]<1> to the north of the Orion that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Richland County community of Orion.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Orion ...
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.
- Cable
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cable is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cable
- Coal Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Green River
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Green River is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
- Green Rock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Green Rock is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Rock
- Griffin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lynn Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Poplar Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Poplar Grove is located in Rock Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
- Sunny Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sunny Hill is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Hill
- Timber Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Timber Ridge is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge
How Far From Orion 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 include the distance from a village such as Orion to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Orion and extending to:
- Cambridge, which is the Seat of Henry County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Orion to Cambridge, with an average speed<5> 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 114 miles [183.5 km] to the south southeast (SSE). 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 723 miles [1,163.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 41 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,308 miles [10,151.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,050 miles [11,345.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,937 miles [7,945.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Orion) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <2> | 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 Orion, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.
Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.
Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.
Also keep in mind that Orion could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Orion 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 Orion. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3526, Longitude: -90.3767 |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.267 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.35 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.074 degrees. |
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