I came outside to smoke a cigarette. I was facing due west and became aware out of my periphery of a bright object to the north. This object was white, glowing, and easily 3-4x brighter than any star and 2-3x brighter than any observed planet. Once I noticed it, I turned my attention to this object. As I watched it, it went from bright to very faint within a matter of seconds, as if accelerating away from my viewing position. Within 10-15 seconds it was no longer viewable at all. I was able to see other stars in the sky in the area of this object, so it did not seem to move behind cloud cover. I stayed outside for another 20 minutes to see if I was able to observe the object again, but never was able to see anything in that direction that would replicate what I observed (allowing for there to be clouds I could not see). This is a phenomenon I have not previously observed in that direction prior and found it to be significant enough to file a report. I make no assumptions about what I saw, but it was definitely not a previously known aircraft. Distance would have to have been greater than 3-5 miles from my position as an estimate, although I cannot know for certain. Winds were light and variable and practically unobserved at the time of the incident. The light either grew faint until it could no longer be detected by the naked eye or accelerated away from my position in a straight line. I have observed aircraft, satellites, and the ISS before, but this behaved differently than anything I have seen. It was stationary until it diminished from my viewing position.