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 Thompsonburg:
43.207854, -72.780097
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.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Thompsonburg ...
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.
Bondville (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bondville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 Thompsonburg to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Thompsonburg and extending to:
Newfane, which is the Seat of Windham County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<3> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Thompsonburg to Newfane, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
Montpelier, which is the State Capital of Vermont, lies 73 miles [117.5 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 370 miles [595.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take 6 hours, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 21 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,542 miles [8,919 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,257 miles [10,069.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,132 miles [6,649.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
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>
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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Thompsonburg) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thompsonburg. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.2079, Longitude: -72.7801 In this case, the coordinates for Thompsonburg have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Thompsonburg to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.895 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.746 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.931 degrees.