10/1/09 approximately 9:28 PM CDT.
Bright star faded completely away. i.e. I watched as a star disappeared.
Viewing From Amarillo Texas, Latitude 35 N, Longitude 102 W, Elevation 3300′
Moon nearly full, Azimuth 129, Elevation 34°
In the constellation Cassiopeia, Azimuth 30, Elevation 34, I saw a very bright, completely stationary light about the size and brightness of Jupiter (at its largest). There was no flickering or pulsating. After a few seconds, I realized that it was gradually getting dimmer. In less than a minute it faded completely away and did not reappear.
Apparently a geostationary (geosynchronous) satellite flare? I couldn’t find much on the web about it and so assume that it’s a fairly rare occurrence.
Please post a comment if you can help identify or if you’ve seen similar…