Did anyone else see that strange light in the sky?

Question

I live in Canada and over the lake Ontario (maybe others from elsewhere could still see it since it was still fairly high in the sky) and I saw this strange, flickering star-like thing in the sky. It wasn't a plane, although at first it seemed so; it had reddish, orangy but mainly white lights flashing. It was stationary, except it would move a little down, up and side to side. This could be a trick of the eye, I don't know.
Could this really be a star? Becuase it's so bright, why don't I see other times? The last time I noticed this, it was sometimes last year.
(I will definitly need to get a telescope...now I'm convinced to get one)

It looked to be just as high in the sky as a star, yet much brighter and bigger, meaning it could be a lost closer. It sat in the sky just below all of the other stars.
Not a satelite...

Answer 1

yeah man i though i was high again!!!!!!!!! THANKS! im not alone geez i though i was losing my mind finally T T but i live in lima peru south america and yet I SEE THAT **** its unbelivable

Answer 2

If it was close enough to the horizon, it may have just been a star. Because the atmosphere is MUCH thicker neat the horizon than it is overhead, stars near it will tend to twinkle and flicker more intensely...it's light has more of a filtered haze to go through. The result can be a very multi-colored flickering as the light get's bent by the air. The "motion" it had sounds like a trick of the eye, as you say.

Answer 3

If this was something that you saw just around sunset, and near the setting sun, I would bet that it was Mercury. I once saw something very similar to waht you described, went inside and checked my software, and sure enough, there it was.

How high in the sky was it? straight up? just above the horizon? Halfway between straigh up and the horizon?

If it was not Mercury (or Venus) then it was likely a star shimmering dramatically due to a very turbulent atmosphere.

Answer 4

Maybe its a planet - either a mars, neptune, saturn or jupiter, its depends on its color, brightness and how its look like - i think it may be mars or jupiter as you've mentioned its color - reddish and orangy. Its just such a period where sometimes you can view it and sometimes not - during the position where it may be straightly aligned to the position of earth, usually once a year or something like that.

Answer 5

What about the international space station, perhaps the sunlight reflecting off the solar panels it uses for power.

Answer 6

maybe you discovered a new planet does it fit new criteria