Jupiter, Spica shine bright 'near' the moon Thursday night

ROANOKE, Va. – After sunset Thursday night, look to the southwestern sky. You will be able to see the moon, with two special guests. 

Jupiter will shine brightly to the left of the moon. Below the moon, you can also see the bright star, Spica. 

Sunset is at 8:38 p.m. in Roanoke, and moonset is at 1:12 a.m. Friday. You will have plenty of time to witness this.

Meanwhile in the east, you can see Mars shining very brightly. Mars is on its way to opposition, in which the earth is sandwiched between the Sun and Mars. This happens on July 27.

Come July 31, Mars will be at its closest point to Earth since 2003. That's just part of why we've been seeing what appears to be a bright red star in our eastern sky each night.

Mars won't appear this close again until the year 2035.