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I would like to ask if anyone knows what the really bright star is in the western sky. Once the sun has set I've noticed a very bright elongated star in the western sky. I've noticed it bright around 10.30pm and getting slightly dimmer by midnight.  
Does anyone have any ideas??

I was thinking this too about 3 weeks ago so I looked it up. Its actually a few stars grouped together which is why its so bright but also a little elongated. I cant remember their names though but you can google whats in the night sky certain dates and it will tell you which constellations are visible too. its pretty neat

Is that not because the sun is shining on it and as it goes down it gets dimmer?

The brightest o:bject in the western evening sky these days in Venus. Also, if you look a little north and slightly higher there is a more dim "star" with an orange tint, that's Mars.

It could be Venus but it's wide and elongated. It's not anything like RN has suggested as it does not move but I've never noticed it before and puzzled as to it's length.

We first noticed it a couple weeks ago and it shone behind a cloud which a star wouldn't do. But it rotates with the earth. We first thought the space station but according to my star app, that is further south. Then we wondered if it was a satellite to monitor the border?? Our telescope lens isn't good enough but it's definitely looks bigger and brighter than a star. The earliest we've seen it is around 6pm, way before other stars are out. Would be great to get a definitive answer.

The bright o:bject is Venus. If you watch it over the next few weeks it will be lower in the sky at the same hour as the month wears on. It will become an evening star in late summer. To the upper left of Venus, as stated earlier, is Mars (the small red o:bject). It will be about two fists widths away from Venus in about the 10 o'clock position. The space stations orbit takes it from west to east and travels across the sky in less then 10 minutes.  
 
Marpet

The asteroid Vesta is circling around the Gemini twin's heads, and is apparently bright. I have no idea where Gemini is, and haven't noticed this object yet, but I know where Mars and Venus are. I will keep my eyes open tho. I love looking at the night sky.

The International Space Station, which can be found in the Southwest region from time to time.

As Marpet said, it's Venus that shining very bright in the west. Even though it's only 17% illuminated, it's still quite bright.

Mr.BDS said "The International Space Station, which can be found in the Southwest region from time to time. "

The space station is the second brightest item you will see in the night sky, after the moon. When it is visible it moves fairly quickly, taking 5 mins at most to cross from the west horizon to the east.  
 
Its not the Space Station.

also varies widely when and where appears in our skies. To see when and were it will appear in our skies this is a good site.  
http://www.heavens-above.com/  
 
Spaceweather.com has a picture of Venus showing it's current phase.  
http://www.spaceweather.com/

zdeno721 said "I was thinking this too about 3 weeks ago so I looked it up. Its actually a few stars grouped together which is why its so bright but also a little elongated. I cant remember their names though but you can google whats in the night sky certain dates and it will tell you which constellations are visible too. its pretty neat "

might be looking at the Pleiades (M45).  
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades

R.N. said "I have faithfully watched it at great lengths and looked for it every night for the past several weeks. I saw the light pointing towards the north one evening and watched as the light turned back towards the east. It's not exactly in the same location all the time but in the general direction of the south / southwest skies. I thought possibly military training but it's been weeks so I don't know what the point would be. I have been faithful for weeks watching it as I found it to be so out of place and it's definitely not a planet or the stars. I knew it wasn't the ISS as I watch when that comes around as it's always really fascinating. Anyway it's quite interesting what it could be but it's definitely not planetary or a star. "

...what you looking at but if your talking about the brightest o:bject in the South/Southwestern sky that will set at between 9-9:30 pm tomorrow evening almost due west, it is most definitely Venus. I have yet to see an o:bject in the southwestern sky over the last 5 weeks that has been brighter than Venus but if you live by the airport or near Shilo then it may be something I haven't seen. I however live on the west edge of Brandon and the only Bright o:bject in the sky in the evening is Venus.  
 
Absolutely.  
 
Marpet

R.N. said "Those are close to the Big Dipper. This is a very bright light to the right of them. This looks like a spot light in the nights sky and it moves further and closer and directionally. I have seen it do all the above. The truth is out there! "

..M45, The Pleiades (The Seven Sisters) are nowhere near the Big Dipper. I''m not sure where your getting your information from but Trevor is the president of the Brandon and Area Astronomical Society and has shown me to be extremely knowledgeable of the night sky.  
 
http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html  
 
The link will take you to a site where you can download a map of the night sky to print out. Click the March 2017 link. You can see cleary that The Pleiades are located in the western sky at 9pm and that The Big Dipper is located in the NE sky at the same time.  
 
If you were to click the Link for February 2017 and looked at the line of the Ecliptic towards the western sky you would see the location on Venus.  
 
Be sure your clicking the Northern Hemisphere links.  
 
Marpet  
 
Edited by Marpet, 2017-03-01 01:06:44

Asteroid Vesta info  
 
https://theskylive.com/vesta-info  
 
According to NASA website, Comet 45P is visible.  
Comet 2P Enke is visible in Pisces.  
 
"Meteors are caused when dust particles from comets and asteroids burn up in Earth's atmosphere. February isn't a great meteor shower month, but you might see a different kind of dust particles called the Zodiacal Light. The Zodiacal light is a triangular glow caused when sunlight reflects off dust particles in the plane of our solar system. Use Venus and Mars as signposts to the cone-shaped glow on the western horizon at sunset in late February and March" - Copy and pasted from NASA website.  
 
https://www.nasa.gov/mediacast/jpl/whats-up-february-2017  
 
Edited by Mauve, 2017-03-01 01:20:48

There are free apps that identify stars. I use one called Star Tracker. You open the app and point your phone at the sky. What you point at shows up on the screen.

Take a photo or a video and post, so we all can see it.  
 
Marpet.

Marpet said "Take a photo or a video and post, so we all can see it.     Marpet. "

take a video or photo. Because I have never seen anything out of the ordinary when I've been outside at night over the past 2 months.

You guys are all wrong. My daughter knows that that is her grandfather "geegee" shining bright from heaven as a star watching over her and the little one to the side of that star is her great aunt that passed away the same day. She looks at those stars every night and says it so she must know what she's talking about.

Cresent waxing moon with Venus approximately 25 degrees to the North in about the 3 to 4 o''clock position.  
 
Marpet  
 
Edited by Marpet, 2017-03-01 18:55:52

Definitely not the Seven Sisters. They're fairly faint.  
 
There are many objects that appear to shift colour or shape as you watch them. One example is Spica, which is a close binary star system. It can appear to change shape or look egg-shaped. Capella is a star system of four stars in two binary pairs and its appearance resembles what I think you are explaining.  
 
Please post a picture so we can be able to fully understand which object in the night sky you are referring to.

Some would say

I love the response to this subject I read everyone's messages and doing some research with some of the url's given on this subject.  
I'm not a starry eyed person and I don't understand the science of the skies but I'm learning.

The reason Venus looks a little "elongated" right now is because of its current position in its orbit around the Sun and our view. It has phases like the moon.  
This also happens with Mercury.  
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phases_of_Venus  
 
Another interesting fact about Venus, it returns to it''s "starting point" in our night sky every 8 years. It''s path traces out a pentagram.  
 
Edited by Mauve, 2017-03-02 11:14:18

I went out to Spruce Woods Provincial Park to do some astrophotography. Again I did not see anything out of the ordinary. Venus was very bright and the Moon was a crescent.

twistedsenior said "I would like to ask if anyone knows what the really bright star is in the western sky. Once the sun has set I've noticed a very bright elongated star in the western sky. I've noticed it bright around 10.30pm and getting slightly dimmer by midnight.   Does anyone have any ideas?? "

...that you stated in the OP, I doubt that it is Venus your seeing.  
 
Venus is set by 10pm and I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary from my location.  
 
If you see it again, take a photo and post.  
 
I would assume that it is nothing celestial, as there is no mention of any special events in any of the publications I rely on.  
 
Marpet

Westjet comes in around 10:45-11:30pm from Calgary on Saturday, monday and wednesday. If they are far away and turn their landing light on they can appear stationary and star like for quite some time. Brightness can vary as they descend through clouds.