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 Sunderland:
42.466407, -72.579505
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.
We found four communities that share the name Sunderland.
There is one other community in Massachusetts which is also named Sunderland.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these three communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
Communities Located In Massachusetts ...
Worcester County
This Sunderland is located in Worcester County and lies 43 miles [69.2 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Sunderland that is located in Franklin County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Worcester County community of Sunderland.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Maryland
Calvert County
This Sunderland is located in Calvert County and lies 336 miles [540.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the Sunderland that is located in Franklin County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calvert County community of Sunderland.
Ontario
This Sunderland lies 348 miles [560.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Sunderland that is located in Franklin County.
Vermont
Bennington County
This Sunderland is located in Bennington County and lies 51 miles [82.1 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Sunderland that is located in Franklin County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bennington County community of Sunderland.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sunderland ...
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.
Baconville (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baconville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Sunderland to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sunderland and extending to:
Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 77 miles [123.9 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Sunderland to Boston, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 339 miles [545.6 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,563 miles [8,952.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,274 miles [10,097 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,150 miles [6,678.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
Footnotes ...
<1>
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- Sunderland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sunderland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4664, Longitude: -72.5795
<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>
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 Sunderland 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 304.875 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.601 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.205 degrees.