Nightly Observations 2.1

For the past week or two, I have been able to consistently observe the night sky from around 7-11 in the evening. Variation in observation time occurs as it is not static when I find myself outside, and I then take a chance to look around and see what is taking place in the sky. I have noticed however that the Moon has been particularly bright of late, as the cold nights and little cloud cover have made conditions quite perfect. The Southeastern portion of the sky always appears to be the brightest and littered with most stars, with a deal of scattering in the Southwest as well. Specifically the 'Belt' in the constellation Orion has been consistently observable in the sky. Tonight however is a different story. The Moon is not visible at all, most likely it is sunken below the horizon, and the Southeast portion of the sky is blank of stars. I have no clue as to why I am not able to see any stars at 8 at night, and it is puzzling me to no end. However this lack of stars has brought something to my notice in the Southwest. There is a very bright celestial object high in the Southwest, brighter than anything in the sky currently. I do not know what exactly this bright object is, but most likely I would guess that it is a planet, as stars are not usually so bright and unique in the sky like this.