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I saw a very bright star in the night sky on Monday (Jan 30, 2017). The star was in the Western sky and was directly above the crescent moon.

My location is Toronto, Ontario. Canada. It was about 8pm at night, but by 10pm the star had disappeared over the horizon.

I'm sure this was a planet as it shined brighter then any of the other stars, but I couldn't guess which one.

Can you identify this planet for me?

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  • $\begingroup$ You should look around. There are plenty of websites which tell you the location of the planets now or at any desired date. Also -- get a telescope or a nice pair of binoculars & you'll be able to see a lot more of the planets & some of their moons. $\endgroup$ Feb 2, 2017 at 14:05

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This Community Wiki answer was created to preserve knowledge while other answer(s) are under review.

From Dr Chuck:

It was Venus. It should have been 10 - 15 degrees above the moon.

From Wayfaring Stranger:

Venus is whiter than Jupiter, Saturn, or Mars, which have yellowish, yellow, and reddish tints instead. It's also usually much brighter than the other planets, including Mercury. Mercury always hangs closer to the sun than did Venus in early Feb 2017.

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