Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Osman, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Osman and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Osman
- 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 Osman:
- 40.295867, -88.472004
- 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.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Osman
- 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 McLean County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for McLean County
- Since Osman is near Champaign County and also Piatt County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Champaign County
- eBird sighting report for Piatt 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Osman ...
We found three communities that share the name Osman.
Within Illinois, the name Osman is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Ohio
- Texas
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Osman ...
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.
- Centerville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Piatt County
- Derby
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north) - Dewey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dewey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey
- Dewey is located in Champaign County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dewey <4>
- Farmer City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmer City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer City
- Farmer City is located in De Witt County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,906 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmer City <4>
- Fisher
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisher have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Fisher is located in Champaign County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fisher <4>
- Galesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesville
- Galesville is located in Piatt County
- Harpster
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Harris
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Lotus
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lotus
- Lotus is located in Champaign County
- Weedman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
How Far From Osman 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 community such as Osman to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Osman and extending to:
- Bloomington, which is the Seat of McLean County, lies 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Osman to Bloomington, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 71 miles [114.3 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take 4 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 615 miles [989.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,290 miles [10,122.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,026 miles [11,307.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,907 miles [7,897.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Osman. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for McLean County: www.mclean.gov/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
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 Osman, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Osman) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Osman. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2959, Longitude: -88.4720 In this case, the coordinates for Osman have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Osman 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 314.984 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.734 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.416 degrees. |