Moon + Venus + Jupiter

This morning, the weatherman on the news told me that we would be able to see Venus and Jupiter very near the crescent moon this evening. I didn't think much of it since I usually forget about those things by the time you actually get to see them (it doesn't help that these things seem to happen in the wee hours of the morning). Tonight, however, I lucked out! While I was driving home, there they were, in the night sky. Here is an artist's digital rendering of the sight:

The moon is the closest to us, naturally, at only 252,000 miles away. While flying home for Thanksgiving, the Captain announced that we had reached our cruising altitude of 37,000 feet. That's only a measly 7 miles.

If we got to the moon, and looked back at Earth, the Earth would appear to us about 3.7 times bigger than the moon looks to us from Earth. That would be a BIG "moon".

Venus is 94 million miles away, and Jupiter is 540 million miles away. The next time that the crescent moon, Venus, and Jupiter will be as close and visible as they were tonight will be November 18, 2052! I'll be 72. Here's hoping someone wheels me outside to see this again.