SOOOOO I look up in the sky tonight and see this really bright object in the south-western sky (I live in Eastern NC). I see this thing a couple times a week and its never in the sky for more than a few hours. I think to myself: "wow that thing sure is bright! What is it? Is it a planet? No, Google Sky Map says that there are no planets in that area. Is it a Star? Not likely, there are no stars in that area that are anywhere near that bright. Hmmm..." I walk inside, go into the attic and pull out my old telescope that is pretty schitty but gives a good view of most things in the solar system. I just want a little info on what this thing is/could be. Look into the telescope and, after a half-hour of fiddling around with various lenses and magnifiers, i finally get an image i believe to be close to focused. This is what i saw: a very bright, crescent shaped object. 1: This tells me the object is reflecting the light of our sun. 2: To be reflecting our sun's light so brightly, the object must be closer to the sun than Uranus. 3: The rounded edge of the crescent means that the object is roughly spherical. I have NO IDEA what I've seen tonight, so if anyone with information could enlighten me, or even discuss this I would be greatly appreciative.