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 Old City:
39.946502, -75.146844
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 enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Philadelphia County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
We found four communities that share the name Old City.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Old City is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Maine
Piscataquis County
This Old City is located in Piscataquis County and lies 525 miles [844.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Old City that is located in Philadelphia County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Piscataquis County community of Old City.
Massachusetts
Middlesex County
This Old City is located in Middlesex County and lies 256 miles [412 km]<1> to the northeast of the Old City that is located in Philadelphia County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Middlesex County community of Old City.
New York
Herkimer County
This Old City is located in Herkimer County and lies 222 miles [357.3 km]<1> to the north of the Old City that is located in Philadelphia County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Herkimer County community of Old City.
Vermont
Orange County
This Old City is located in Orange County and lies 306 miles [492.5 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Old City that is located in Philadelphia County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Old City.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Old City ...
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.
Fishtown (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fishtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 Old City to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Old City and extending to:
Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 94 miles [151.3 km]<1> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could drive a straight line from Old City to Harrisburg, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 124 miles [199.6 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,773 miles [9,290.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,478 miles [10,425.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,355 miles [7,008.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Old City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Old City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.9465, Longitude: -75.1468 In this case, the coordinates for Old City 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 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 Old City 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 306.694 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.246 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.489 degrees.