On Monday night the moon, almost full, appears close to the bright planet Jupiter. Both are in the zodiacal constellation Virgo. Also nearby you’ll find the bright star Spica.

The next night is the full Daffodil Moon, and it forms a much larger triangle with Jupiter and the bright star Spica. Wait later into the night, when the three are higher in the southern sky.

Though these three celestial objects appear close, their distance from us is staggeringly different. The moon is roughly a quarter million miles away. The bright planet Jupiter is 409 million miles away.

Taking another view, Jupiter is 1,636 times farther away from us than the distance of the moon. The distance Spica is beyond conceptual measure. The double star is 260 light years away.

The light we see traveled from the star well before the United States was a country, well before the Declaration of Independence. These three celestial objects may appear conveniently close, but that is only in appearance. All the stars in the night sky may look close to each other. Their distance from us can vary considerably, from 20 to several hundred light years away.