Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Stardust, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Stardust and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Stardust
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- 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 Stardust:
- 25.934247, -97.533319
- 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.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Stardust
- Bird Watching ...
- 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 Cameron County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Cameron County
- Since Stardust is near Hidalgo County and also Willacy County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hidalgo County
- eBird sighting report for Willacy County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Curious and Interesting Names Near Stardust ...
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.
- Angel Haven
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Angel Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel Haven
- Angel Haven is located in Cameron County
- Angel Haven has also been known as:
- Angel Haven Colonia
- Four Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Four Corners is located in Cameron County
- Graham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Green Valley Farms
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Valley Farms have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley Farms
- Green Valley Farms is located in Cameron County
- Green Valley Farms has also been known as:
- Green Valley Farms Colonia
- Illinois Heights
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Illinois Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinois Heights
- Illinois Heights is located in Cameron County
- Illinois Heights has also been known as:
- Illinois Heights Colonia
- Indian Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lake
- Indian Lake is located in Cameron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
- Jaime Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jaime Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaime Lake
- Jaime Lake is located in Cameron County
- Jaime Lake has also been known as:
- Jaime Lake Colonia
- Palm Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palm Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Grove
- Palm Grove is located in Cameron County
How Far From Stardust to ...
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 Stardust to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Stardust and extending to:
- Brownsville, which is the Seat of Cameron County, lies just to the East Southeast.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 299 miles [481.2 km]<2> to the north (N). If you could drive a straight line from Stardust to Austin, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 17 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 12 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,486 miles [2,391.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 58 days and walking would take 85 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,373 miles [11,865.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,088 miles [13,016.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,963 miles [9,596.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Stardust. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Cameron County: www.co.cameron.tx.us/
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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- Stardust) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Stardust. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 25.9342, Longitude: -97.5333 In this case, the coordinates for Stardust have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Stardust 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 319.32 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.88 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.504 degrees. |