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 Camp Russell:
42.411752, -73.323163
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.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Camp Russell ...
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.
Coltsville (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coltsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rockdale Mills. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Camp Russell to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Camp Russell and extending to:
Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 115 miles [185.1 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Camp Russell to Boston, with an average speed<4>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 310 miles [498.9 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,597 miles [9,007.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,308 miles [10,151.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,184 miles [6,733.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Footnotes ...
<1>
An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>
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.
<3>
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Camp Russell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Camp Russell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4118, Longitude: -73.3232 In this case, the coordinates for Camp Russell have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Camp Russell 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 305.333 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 301.107 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.571 degrees.