Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Billerica, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Billerica and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Billerica
- 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 Billerica:
- 42.559608, -71.26913
- 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 Billerica
- 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 Billerica is near Essex County and also Dukes County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Essex County
- eBird sighting report for Dukes 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Billerica ...
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.
- Centralville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centralville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralville
- Centralville is located in Middlesex County
- Countryside
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Countryside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside
- Countryside is located in Middlesex County
- Fox Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Havenville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Havenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havenville
- Havenville is located in Middlesex County
- Middlesex Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlesex Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex Village
- Middlesex Village is located in Middlesex County
- Nutting Lake
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutting Lake
- Nutting Lake is located in Middlesex County
- Plain
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Reading Highlands
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reading Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading Highlands
- Reading Highlands is located in Middlesex County
- Shaker Glen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Glen
- Shaker Glen is located in Middlesex County
- Shakerhill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shakerhill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shakerhill
- Shakerhill is located in Middlesex County
- Silver Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Silver Lake is located in Middlesex County
- Walnut Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
- Walnut Hill is located in Middlesex County
- Woods Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woods Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Corner
- Woods Corner is located in Middlesex County
How Far From Billerica 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 Billerica to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Billerica and extending to:
- Cambridge, which is the Seat of Middlesex County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Billerica to Cambridge, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast (SE). The buggy would take five to six hours and walking would take most of a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 393 miles [632.5 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 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,505 miles [8,859.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,213 miles [9,998.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,089 miles [6,580.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Billerica: www.town.billerica.ma.us/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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- Billerica) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Billerica. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5596, Longitude: -71.2691 |
| <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 Billerica 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 304.071 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.712 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.563 degrees. |