i spotted this small / distant iridescent sphere whilst standing in my garden. (i have an open garden surrounded by nearby open countryside, with a great view of the sky.). i live alone and pop out into the garden to look for interesting objects several times every night. this glittering star like object immediately caught my eye because it was out of place. it was low, over the neighbouring rooftops at about 40-45 degrees altitude. the sky was clear without any visible cloud cover. as i watched i realised that it was moving slowly and steadily in a southerly direction, thus no planet or star !! i watched for a minute or so and then took a chance by running in to grab my bino`s, which were directly behind the door. to my relief it was still there and visible when i returned.The bino`s made it even harder to focus. it was just like a spherical mass of random swirling colours.It then faded out as they often do. given the low positioning in the sky the fading out could possibly be attributed to a low cloud bank ?? i live directly under a major u.K. flightpath ( including nearby manchester airport ). i know all civilian and military aicraft, frequently watch and i.D. visible satellites on my phone and am familiar with the celestial constellations. i regularly visit military airshows , am 59 years of age and used to be a member of the local ( now folded ) u.F.O. club. this was just the kind of thing i hope to see when i go out into my garden all year round. it was something very unusual !!