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 Bing:
46.443256, -114.084439
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 two communities that share the name Bing.
Within Montana, the name Bing is unique.
Beyond Montana, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Michigan
Alger County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Bing [Alger County].
Wisconsin
Fond du Lac County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Wisconsin community of Bing [Fond du Lac County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bing ...
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.
Apple Blossom Court (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apple Blossom Court 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 Bing to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Bing and extending to:
Hamilton, which is the Seat of Ravalli County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<4> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Bing to Hamilton, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
Helena, which is the State Capital of Montana, lies 98 miles [157.7 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,932 miles [3,109.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take three full days, a buggy would take 76 days and walking would take 110 days.
The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,698 miles [10,779.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,467 miles [12,017 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,503 miles [8,856.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Footnotes ...
<1>
If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.
Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.
Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.
Also keep in mind that Bing could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
<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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>
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- Bing) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.4433, Longitude: -114.0844
<5>
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.
<6>
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 Bing to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 334.086 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 334.481 degrees.
<9>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 322.571 degrees.