Associated Press, NASA

Astronauts on the space shuttle Atlantis took this image of the international space station after concluding a two-week mission in February. The Endeavour is currently docked to the space station.

Tonight and Saturday night, people in the Roanoke area have good opportunities to see the international space station with the space shuttle Endeavour docked to it as they pass directly over the Roanoke Valley. They will appear together as a single bright star, growing to the brightness of Jupiter, which lies in the southwest as darkness falls.

• Tonight: About 6:12 p.m., look to the southwest just to the right of bright Jupiter and brilliant Venus. The station and shuttle appear as a star moving upward in the sky. It will take three minutes to advance overhead, brightening all the while. A minute later, it will disappear in the Earth's shadow high in the northeast.

• Saturday: At 5:30 p.m., look to the upper right of Venus and Jupiter for the space station and shuttle. By 5:32, they will be directly overhead, and three minutes later will disappear in the Earth's shadow.

• When directly overhead, the pair will be 225 miles above Earth.

-- John Goss