Woman Sees Bright Light in Southern Sky Suddenly Disappear

 Date of Sighting: December 17, 2005
Time of Sighting: 5:45 PM PST
Duration of Sighting: 20 to 25 Seconds
Date Reported: December 18, 2005
Location of Sighting: Post Falls, Idaho (North Idaho Panhandle)
Latitude: 47.7 Degrees N
Longitude: 116.883 Degrees W
Number of Witnesses: One
Weather: Clear Skies. Light Winds.

Description (In Witness's Own Words): What looked like a very bright star caught my eye in the southern sky. It did not appear to be there just a few moments before. As I watched it for approximately 10-15 seconds it became very bright then slowly faded to what would be considered a very distant star and then disappeared altogether. Total time from seeing the object to the disappearance was 20-25 seconds. The object did not move at any time during the observation.

Investigator's Notes: I originally thought that the witness saw Venus or Mars given that both planets are very bright in the evening sky in December, 2005.  However, the witness says that she is an amateur astronomer and is quite familiar with star and planet positions.  She is positive that the light that she saw was not a planet or star.  For this reason I am not sure what the witness saw.