Well it sounds like it could be one of 3 bright stars:<br />1. Arcturus (almost due west at 9:30) or<br />2. Altair ( ESE at 9:30)<br />Both are about 45 degrees elevation.<br />Arcturus is a little brighter with kind of a yellowish tint,<br />Altair appears almost pure white. (Movie reference: Forbidden Planet)<br />3. Vega, About as bright as Arcturus, but white), about 75 degrees elevation in the SE, but that would only be blocked by taller close buildings (depending on where you are that is possible!)<br />All will flicker and change colors when passing through the air over the city (I know how hard it is. Often tried to check what stars I could see from 30 Rock in my last job).<br />A weak possibility is Jupiter, which should twinkle less but is very low in the southwest.<br />There's nothing really bright due south. Can you refine the direction a bit?<br />Are you looking straight down one of the avenues? If so, is it on the left or right side of the street?<br />Hmmm, the more I think about it, the more I think it might be Vega. 75 degrees is pretty close to 60 degrees and most people (even me) tend to underestimate elevations near the zenith unless they measure. <br />Hold you fist out at arms length, the width is about 10 degrees. If it's less than two fist widths from directly overhead, then Vega (Movie Reference: Contact) is the likely winner.<br /><br />MW<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>