Common Sense Evaluation

What would the sky look like if you could swap the moon for each of the other planets? Ron Miller, a former art director for NASA, superimposed the planets in place of the moon to create images which show their true size if placed that near to Earth.

The Moon

What if a celestial body like Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system, was as close to the Earth as our moon? Would it fill the night sky? Illustrator and author Ron Miller sought to answer the question using the reference photograph above.

It’s important to note that this is strictly a visual exercise. If a planet like Jupiter were actually as close to Earth as the Moon, its immense gravitation would wreak havoc on our planet. So for the gallery below, please temporarily suspend your disbelief and just imagine how amazing it would be to see a planet like Saturn in such incredible detail.

For reference, the Moon is about 386,243 km (240,000 miles) from Earth and has a diameter of approximately 3,476 km (2,160 miles). The Earth’s diameter is 12,742 km (7,918 miles)

Venus

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune