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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 Sunbeam, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sunbeam 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 Sunbeam:
- 41.126919, -90.734860
- 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 Sunbeam
- 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 Mercer County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Mercer County
- Since Sunbeam is near Warren County and also Henderson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Warren County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Henderson 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 Sunbeam
Communities Also Named Sunbeam ...
We found ten communities that are also named Sunbeam.
Within Illinois, the name Sunbeam is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of ten communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- El Dorado County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Sunbeam [El Dorado County].
- Colorado
- Moffat County
- This Sunbeam is located in Moffat County and lies 911 miles [1,466.1 km]<2> to the west of the Sunbeam that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Moffat County community of Sunbeam.
- Florida
- Duval County
- This Sunbeam is located in Duval County and lies 911 miles [1,466.1 km]<2> to the southeast of the Sunbeam that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Duval County community of Sunbeam.
- Idaho
- Custer County
- This Sunbeam is located in Custer County and lies 1,232 miles [1,982.7 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Sunbeam that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Custer County community of Sunbeam.
- Kansas
- Wabaunsee County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Sunbeam [Wabaunsee County].
- Louisiana
- East Feliciana Parish
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Louisiana community of Sunbeam [East Feliciana Parish].
- Pennsylvania
- Franklin County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Sunbeam [Franklin County].
- Texas
- Grayson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Sunbeam [Grayson County].
- Virginia
- Southampton County
- This Sunbeam is located in Southampton County and lies 799 miles [1,285.9 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Sunbeam that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Southampton County community of Sunbeam.
- West Virginia
- Logan County
- This Sunbeam is located in Logan County and lies 519 miles [835.2 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Sunbeam that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Logan County community of Sunbeam.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sunbeam ...
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.
- Alexis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bald Bluff
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bald Bluff is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Bluff
- Denny ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Denny is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denny
- Eleanor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Joy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Keithsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Little York
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Martin ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Martin is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
- Shale City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Shale City is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shale City
- Spring Grove ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Grove is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
- Sugar Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sugar Grove is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
How Far From Sunbeam 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 Sunbeam to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sunbeam and extending to:
- Aledo, which is the Seat of Mercer County, lies just to the North.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 108 miles [173.8 km]<2> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Sunbeam to Springfield, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 739 miles [1,189.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 42 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,332 miles [10,190.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,074 miles [11,384.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,961 miles [7,984 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Sunbeam 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. |
| <2> | 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- Sunbeam) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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 Sunbeam, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Sunbeam 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 Sunbeam. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1269, Longitude: -90.7349 |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.504 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.591 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.31 degrees. |
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