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 Little Marais Postoffice:
47.395469, -91.134884
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 Little Marais Postoffice ...
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.
Baptism Crossing (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baptism Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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 Little Marais Postoffice to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Little Marais Postoffice and extending to:
Two Harbors, which is the Seat of Lake County, lies 35 miles [56.3 km]<3> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Little Marais Postoffice to Two Harbors, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 192 miles [309 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 918 miles [1,477.4 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 53 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,030 miles [9,704.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,787 miles [10,922.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,701 miles [7,565.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
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>
While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>
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- Little Marais Postoffice) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Little Marais Postoffice. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.3955, Longitude: -91.1349 In this case, the coordinates for Little Marais Postoffice 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 Little Marais Postoffice 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 316.746 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.731 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.758 degrees.