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 Petersfield:
33.679613, -79.230325
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 one communities that share the name Petersfield.
Within South Carolina, the name Petersfield is unique.
Beyond South Carolina, there is another community also named Petersfield in Canada.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Manitoba
This Petersfield lies 1,457 miles [2,344.8 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Petersfield that is located in Georgetown County.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Petersfield ...
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.
Center Crossroads (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center Crossroads 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 Petersfield to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Petersfield and extending to:
Georgetown, which is the Seat of Georgetown County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Petersfield to Georgetown, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
Columbia, which is the State Capital of South Carolina, lies 105 miles [169 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 380 miles [611.6 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,218 miles [10,006.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,905 miles [11,112.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,790 miles [7,708.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Petersfield) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Petersfield. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.6796, Longitude: -79.2303 In this case, the coordinates for Petersfield 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 Petersfield 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 309.307 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.279 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.356 degrees.