The dazzling close encounter between Venus and Jupiter becomes an even more spectacular event when the waxing crescent moon joins the stunning duo tonight.

Last night, when stargazers witnessed the stunning gathering between the two brightest planets in the southwestern sky, a thin crescent moon sat below the dazzling pair. After moving up about 10 degrees along the ecliptic, the crescent moon will sit just above and to the left of Venus tonight. The addition of the crescent moon to the bright duo makes a spectacular little triangle about 20 degrees above the southwestern horizon. Look for this triple conjunction of the three brightest objects in the evening sky about 6 tonight.

Although Venus, Jupiter and the moon line up to form a spectacular triangle in the evening sky, they lie far apart in space. The moon is currently about 251,000 miles from the Earth, while Venus is currently about 85 million miles from the Earth. Jupiter is orbiting about 512 million miles away from our planet.