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 Blocton:
37.796765, -82.342088
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 Blocton.
Within West Virginia, the name Blocton is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, there is another community also named Blocton in the United States.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Alabama
Bibb 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 Blocton [Bibb County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Blocton ...
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.
Ajax (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ajax 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 Blocton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Blocton and extending to:
Williamson, which is the Seat of Mingo County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<4> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Blocton to Williamson, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 54 miles [86.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 297 miles [478 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,167 miles [9,924.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,881 miles [11,073.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,756 miles [7,654 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
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 Blocton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>
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- Blocton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blocton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.7968, Longitude: -82.3421 In this case, the coordinates for Blocton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>
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.
<6>
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 Blocton to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.10 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.933 degrees.
<9>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.342 degrees.