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This happened a little while ago but I've just been thinking about it!

I was in Wales for a holiday, and over the period of 7 days, a particularly bright 'star'(or at least a bright dot that looked exactly like every star in the sky!) started getting...dimmer? My mum took photos but i haven't endeavored to ask for them...or if she even still has them! Each night we would find it and it appeared dimmer, before the last 1-2 nights where it was barely/wasn't visible anymore.

I know this isn't a 'star dying' as that would take a lot longer....could something....like a gas cloud etc have drifted in front of the star(or we moved so that the cloud was in between us and it) that would have dimmed it?

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    $\begingroup$ Hello Aria. Welcome to the stackexchange. Stars don't do this! (or if one did, it would be major news in astronomy). So something is very odd here. Unless you can identify exactly where in the sky this "star" was, there is little chance of getting an answer. If you have photographs that show this "star" in relation to all the other stars in the night sky please post those. (I know someone will say "what about betelgeuse?" but that dimming to place of several months and you would need to know the sky well to notice it. As described, this is much more dramatic) $\endgroup$
    – James K
    Commented Feb 20 at 22:03
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    $\begingroup$ If you can get ahold of those pictures it would be a huge help. Do you remember the date of the event? If so, look for news reports from around that time. If the event was noticeable or unusual enough, it should have been documented. Also, exactly how bright was this flare? Did it rival the brightest and most prominent stars, or did it appear to be among the dimmer "background" ones? $\endgroup$
    – 4NT4R3S
    Commented Feb 21 at 1:21
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    $\begingroup$ Welcome to Stack Exchange! Sounds a lot like Mercury or Venus, not necessarily getting dimmer over 1 week, but dropping lower towards the horizon so that the air is thicker and the twilight brighter, reducing visibility and detectability to the human eye. Please mention an approximate time (e.g. just after sunset/before sunrise?) and approximate direction you were looking and how high above the horizon. Thanks! $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Feb 21 at 6:15
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    $\begingroup$ If you can remember the exact dates of the event (year-month-day) it could be helpful. $\endgroup$
    – Heopps
    Commented Feb 21 at 12:23
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    $\begingroup$ Did it move relative to other stars? $\endgroup$
    – Harrychink
    Commented Mar 24 at 9:10

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