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 Rains:
34.097471, -79.315985
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 are also named Rains.
Within South Carolina, the name Rains is unique.
Beyond South Carolina, we know of three communities that are located in the United States.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Alabama
DeKalb County
This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Rains [DeKalb County].
Nevada
Eureka County
This community is historic<1> and although located in Eureka County, we don't know where within the county.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Eureka County community of Rains.
Utah
Carbon County
This community is historic<1> and although located in Carbon County, we don't know where within the county.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carbon County community of Rains.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rains ...
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 Rains to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Rains and extending to:
Columbia, which is the State Capital of South Carolina, lies 98 miles [157.7 km]<3> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Rains to Columbia, with an average speed<4>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 three full days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 354 miles [569.7 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 21 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,203 miles [9,982.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,892 miles [11,091.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,777 miles [7,687.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'
Footnotes ...
<1>
We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Rains, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>
While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>
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- Rains) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Rains 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 Rains. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.0975, Longitude: -79.3160
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.354 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.394 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.261 degrees.