See Jupiter, Moon and Star Spica in the Pre-Dawn Sky Thursday

The view of these three objects so close together in the night sky, of course, comes merely due to an illusion of perspective: The moon is about 249,500 miles (401,500 kilometers) from Earth, while Jupiter is actually 529 million miles (852 million km) away, more than 2,000 times farther out in space compared to the moon. Jupiter shines nearly twice as bright as Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Whenever Jupiter is above the horizon, the gas giant — the solar system's