i watch the night sky every night. i usually go out to look at the stars once or twice for a few minutes (during commercials, tv breaks, etc.) i stand in the same location in my backyard every night, facing north, and have seen falling stars, planes, helicopters, birds and have witnessed the satellite that tracks north to south as well. i am fairly familiar with objects i see in the night sky and saw something tonight that was very different.the object started from the west, at about 8:45pm, traveling from west to east. (i live in venice, florida near the gulf of mexico). the object was initially "star-like," in size, having the same "size," and brightness as the stars in the sky. at first, i couldnt tell if it was moving, as some scattered light clouds were overhead (i.e. clouds moving, this is stationary, its a star...). however, i soon realized the object was overhead, so it was moving. there was a small plane in the sky traveling southeast to northwest, and i noted that the object i was seeing overhead didnt have the traditional blinking lights that planes use at night.the object was continuing west to east, about 85 degrees in the sky (not directly overhead) when i noticed that when it was about 5 to 10 degrees to my right, it appeared to grow brighter (descend?) and its trajectory changed as if it was coming closer and lower towards the earth. it tracked "toward," me, growing brighter, and then stopped moving, hovering in the spot to which it moved to, for about 5-10 seconds. it was definitely brighter and larger in size compared to the few stars that were visible in the sky, and when i originally noticed it. after hovering, it "ascended?" and grew gradually dimmer, heading off and upwards towards what i would guess was its original west to east trajectory. it "disappeared," but did so sooner than one would assume if it was merely traveling along a trajectory, and more as if it were also ascending at a greater rate as it moved away. i dont know what it was, but due to its change of course, the change in brightness (descent/ascent) hovering and then moving away, i felt i needed to let you know and document this. perhaps you could check with local agencies in regards to radar in the area, on tuesday, september 25, 2012 at 8:45pm, near venice, florida.