What is this bright object in the sky that comes and goes.?

Question

I live in North GA. Tonight I saw an object in the sky that I first thought was a plane. (lower western sky) I looked at it for a second noticing it was very bright. A little later I looked back and it was gone, so I still thought it had been a plane. A while later I looked back and it was there again, so I stared at it, and noticed it would slowly get really bright, and then it would dim down to where you couldn't see it. I thought clouds were interfering... this wasn't the case... The object would get really bright for a while, then dim to where you couldn't see it. I watched this for quite a while starting at about 9PM or so. A little after 10, I went in to get my mom to show her and when we got back out there it wasn't there... I told her it would come back like it'd been doing it for the past hour, but I never saw it again. (possibly because of clouds at this point, I'm not certain) I'll look again tomorrow. I would just like to know what it was. I don't believe it was Venus.

Answer 1

Well most of the posts on the "bright thing in the sky" topic relate to Venus, and Venus IS in the south west. It is quite possible that clouds were interfering. Jupiter and Venus both shine THROUGH clouds on occasion and Venus really is "airplane bright" these days. I have watched planets through cloud cover in a telescope and sometimes it is pale and barely visible and other times the Planet comes through almost as if no cloud is there at all. Venus is not always this bright nor is it always visible in the evening. But right now Venus would shine through a large number of crowds, but get dim in the process.

There is another source of bright white lights that blaze like the dickens. These are Iridium flares and are part of a satellite network put up by Iridium for telecommunications. When they catch the sun they become, momentarily, the brightest thing in the sky.

Venus doesn't set until just after 11:39 from where you are, but typically trees and buildings will cut if off for the last hour or so.

If I had to bet it would be Venus over the Iridum flare.

Answer 2

I suspect it was indeed Venus, though the intermittant appearance with cloudless sky is odd. Celestial objects low enough on the horizon have their light passing through far more atmosphere than would be the case if the object were at the zenith, for example. It is possible, that despite the absense of clouds, there were ice crystals and or particles in the atmosphere that compromised the amount of light.

Answer 3

it would have been an orbiting sattelite which was doing following it's orbit in your area. these things are very common and can be seen even by the naked eye and sometimes with telescopes and binoculars. maybe the satellite was from your network company or your GPS service provider, that i can't really tell, but from the details that you provided above, that is really the best that i could think of. and oh yeah, the fact that you didnt see it again because it is orbiting the earth and is travelling at about 3.87 km/s(kilometers per second) varying on what it does.

hope this helps

Answer 4

it quite is merely about certainly Venus, nevertheless it is going to be increasing interior the east and shifting to the southeast because it rises, not north. Venus is _always_ this outstanding: it quite is by making use of a techniques the brightest merchandise interior the sky different than the solar and Moon. you're appropriate; Comet Holmes is in yet another course. It became outstanding _for a comet_, yet fainter than thousands of stars interior the sky at its brightest, and now just about invisible to the bare eye.

Answer 5

You're right, it was not Venus. From your description, that sounds rather unusual, but what you most likely saw was a satellite/space station. On occasion, you can see them from the ground with the naked eye.

Answer 6

Two planes. Why not? If the plane changes its direction the light changes too.

Answer 7

I think you were watching a satilite as it orbited and spun, the light reflecting on only a portion for some reason.

Answer 8

Satellites. The glow you see is when the moon or sun shine on its panel. You should see it slightly move in a predicted path.

Answer 9

You were seeing Venus probably through some clouds which made it come and go

Answer 10

UFO, even ive seen things like that. they look like a star, right? i saw something like a star a month ago, i called my friend to take a look at it, but by that time it was gone.
??weird??