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 Oyster Point:
37.105424, -76.507451
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 two communities that share the name Oyster Point.
Within Virginia, the name Oyster Point is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Pennsylvania
Lancaster County
This Oyster Point is located in Lancaster County and lies 204 miles [328.3 km]<1> to the north.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lancaster County community of Oyster Point.
South Carolina
Charleston County
This Oyster Point is located in Charleston County and lies 359 miles [577.8 km]<1> to the southwest.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Charleston County community of Oyster Point.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Oyster Point ...
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.
College Park (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for College Park 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 Oyster Point to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Oyster Point and extending to:
Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 59 miles [95 km]<1> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could walk a straight line from Oyster Point to Richmond, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 127 miles [204.4 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,950 miles [9,575.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,646 miles [10,695.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,527 miles [7,285.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Footnotes ...
<1>
Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Oyster Point) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oyster Point. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.1054, Longitude: -76.5075 In this case, the coordinates for Oyster Point 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 Oyster Point 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 307.686 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.933 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.177 degrees.