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 Van Meter:
39.042292, -83.026844
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 three communities that share the name Van Meter.
Within Ohio, the name Van Meter is unique.
Beyond Ohio, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Iowa
Dallas County
This Van Meter is located in Dallas County and lies 600 miles [965.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Van Meter that is located in Pike County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dallas County community of Van Meter.
Kentucky
Fayette County
This Van Meter is located in Fayette County and lies 108 miles [173.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Van Meter that is located in Pike County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Van Meter.
Pennsylvania
Westmoreland County
This Van Meter is located in Westmoreland County and lies 190 miles [305.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Van Meter that is located in Pike County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Westmoreland County community of Van Meter.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Van Meter ...
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.
Bobo (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bobo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shyville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
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 Van Meter to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Van Meter and extending to:
Columbus, which is the State Capital of Ohio, lies 64 miles [103 km]<1> to the north (N). If you could walk a straight line from Van Meter to Columbus, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 321 miles [516.6 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,138 miles [9,878.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,858 miles [11,036.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,734 miles [7,618.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Footnotes ...
<1>
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- Van Meter) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Van Meter. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0423, Longitude: -83.0268 In this case, the coordinates for Van Meter have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>
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.
<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 Van Meter 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 311.506 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.579 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.255 degrees.