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 Bristol:
41.700102, -71.266160
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 five communities that are also named Bristol.
Within Rhode Island, the name Bristol is unique.
Beyond Rhode Island, we know of five communities that are located in the United States.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Connecticut
Hartford County
This Bristol is located in Hartford County and lies 86 miles [138.4 km]<1> to the west of the Bristol that is located in Bristol County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hartford County community of Bristol.
New York
Ontario County
This Bristol is located in Ontario County and lies 323 miles [519.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Bristol that is located in Bristol County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ontario County community of Bristol.
Vermont
Addison County
This Bristol is located in Addison County and lies 190 miles [305.8 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Bristol that is located in Bristol County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Addison County community of Bristol.
Wisconsin
Dane County
This Bristol is located in Dane County and lies 916 miles [1,474.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Bristol that is located in Bristol County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dane County community of Bristol.
Kenosha County
This Bristol is located in Kenosha County and lies 858 miles [1,380.8 km] to the west of the Bristol that is located in Bristol County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kenosha County community of Bristol.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bristol ...
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.
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 Bristol to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bristol and extending to:
Providence, which is the State Capital of Rhode Island, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Bristol to Providence, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 360 miles [579.4 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 6 hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 21 days.
The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,538 miles [8,912.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,242 miles [10,045.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,119 miles [6,628.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>'
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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bristol) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>
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.
<3>
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 Bristol to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bristol. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7001, Longitude: -71.2662 In this case, the coordinates for Bristol have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.195 degrees.
<5>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.708 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.998 degrees.