I live out in the country and stepped outside to smoke around 7:45 p.m. As I was outside smoking I was facing south and was looking at the sky when I noticed a bright starlike light almost directly overhead. The sky was still blue but the sun was setting on the horizon. The sky was slightly hazy but clear where I was looking. I wondered if it was an aircraft with its landing lights on. I walked over to a pole in my yard and watched it while sighting it above the pole to check for movement. I watched for 3 or 4 minutes but it wasn't moving. There were no other stars out yet just this bright unmoving light that I didn't recognize. I went in an grabbed my binoculars and looked at the light while laying on my porch. The light didn't flash or pulsate it was white and bright. I thought it must be a weather balloon reflecting light off the setting sun. It had a strange shape in the binoculars reminded me of a shuttlecock laying on its side. I then went inside my house to get my ipad to take a picture of it. When I got outside it was gone. I was only in the house about 15 seconds. I scanned the sky for the next 10 minutes and noticed a starlike light almost directly overhead moving south it brightened and dimmed into nothingness within 5 seconds like an iridium flare, it was close to where the stationary bright light was earlier. It seemed strange to me since I have some knowledge of astronomy and have years of experience stargazing and watching the sky. It wasn't a Chinese lantern as I have lighted some over the 4 th of july and watched them fly off into the distance.