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 Country Oak Estates:
34.236218, -88.832556
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 Country Oak Estates ...
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.
Cedar Cove (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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 Country Oak Estates to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Country Oak Estates and extending to:
Pontotoc, which is the Seat of Pontotoc County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Country Oak Estates to Pontotoc, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
Jackson, which is the State Capital of Mississippi, lies 154 miles [247.8 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 728 miles [1,171.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 42 days.
The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,600 miles [10,621.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,317 miles [11,775.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,193 miles [8,357.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
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' (or 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- Country Oak Estates) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Country Oak Estates. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.2362, Longitude: -88.8326 In this case, the coordinates for Country Oak Estates have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Country Oak Estates 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 314.963 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.875 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.982 degrees.