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 Merlin:
40.103160, -75.579365
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 Merlin.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Merlin is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
California
Plumas County
This Merlin is located in Plumas County and lies 2,394 miles [3,852.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Merlin that is located in Chester County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Plumas County community of Merlin.
Louisiana
West Baton Rouge Parish
This Merlin is located in West Baton Rouge Parish and lies 1,108 miles [1,783.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Merlin that is located in Chester County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the West Baton Rouge Parish community of Merlin.
Ontario
This Merlin lies 375 miles [603.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Merlin that is located in Chester County.
Oregon
Josephine County
This Merlin is located in Josephine County and lies 2,453 miles [3,947.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Merlin that is located in Chester County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Josephine County community of Merlin.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Merlin ...
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.
Birchrunville (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birchrunville 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 Pikeland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Williams Corner. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
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 Merlin to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Merlin and extending to:
West Chester, which is the Seat of Chester County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Merlin to West Chester, with an average speed<5> 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.
Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 69 miles [111 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 113 miles [181.9 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,785 miles [9,310.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,492 miles [10,447.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,368 miles [7,029.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Footnotes ...
<1>
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 from Point A (ie- Merlin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Merlin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1032, Longitude: -75.5794 In this case, the coordinates for Merlin 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>
While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>
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.
<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 Merlin 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 306.936 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.545 degrees.
<9>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.609 degrees.