Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ayer, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ayer and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ayer
- 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 Ayer:
- 42.559859, -71.589350
- 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 Ayer
- 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 Middlesex County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Middlesex County
- Since Ayer is near Worcester County and also Hillsborough County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Worcester County
- eBird sighting report for Hillsborough 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 Ayer ...
We found three communities that share the name Ayer.
Within Massachusetts, the name Ayer is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- New York
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ayer ...
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.
- Forge Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forge Village
- Forge Village is located in Middlesex County
- Graniteville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graniteville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
- Graniteville is located in Middlesex County
- Harvard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
- Harvard is located in Worcester County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,618 people
- Harvard Station
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvard Station have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Station
- Harvard Station is located in Worcester County
- Littleton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Littleton Common
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton Common
- Littleton Common is located in Middlesex County
- Paper Mill Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paper Mill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village
- Paper Mill Village is located in Middlesex County
- Shaker Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- Shaker Village is located in Worcester County
- Still River
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Still River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Still River
- Still River is located in Worcester County
- Willows
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
How Far From Ayer 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 Ayer to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ayer and extending to:
- Cambridge, which is the Seat of Middlesex County, lies 27 miles [43.5 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Ayer to Cambridge, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 30 miles [48.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 380 miles [611.6 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,518 miles [8,880.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,227 miles [10,021.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,103 miles [6,603.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Ayer: www.ayer.ma.us/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ayer) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ayer. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5599, Longitude: -71.5893 |
| <2> | 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 Ayer 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. |
| <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 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 Ayer to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.264 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.929 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.708 degrees. |