bright star that just dimmed

It could have been a geostationary satellite (like one for sat tv) that went into Earth's shadow.

OP saw a iridium flare...they're predictable, too!

dlbott
reply to post by NoRulesAllowed

 

I realize this is an old thread but couple nights ago here Dec nineteenth 2013 my family and I witnessed an object that we thought was Venus. It was very bright but looking through binoculars it was flashing red, blue, green, purplish and the colors appeared to rotate. You could see the flickering of color with the naked eye. It was amazing. We watched for about hour.

That sounds like Sirius, the brightest star in the snight sky. It flashes different colours due to atmospheric currents. en.wikipedia.org...


As for the OP, it might be too late answering a 3-year old quetion, but it was most definitely an Iridium flare. en.wikipedia.org...