Expert: Jayendra Upadhye - 8/17/2009

Question
I'm in Minneapolis, MN and I noticed a very bright star in the northeastern sky, many times brighter than any other star and twinkling vibrantly.  It's so much brighter than the other stars that I'm wondering if it's even a star at all  A planet maybe?  Any help identifying it would be appreciated.  It's 4:30 AM right now if that helps.

Answer
Hi,
You saw Venus!
There is no other that matches it in brightness, except Canopus and Sirius.
But canopus and sirius are never in that position.
Venus will appear to rise in a north easterly direction when seen as a morning star and set in a northwesterly direction, when seen as an evening star.
when one is in the higher latitudes in the northern hemispgere.
your range is Latitude. 43° 30′ N to 49° 23′ N - Longitude. 89° 29′ W to 97° 14′ W.
Almost 56 degrees north!
Venus is a "morning star" in august 2009!
Consult the almanac.
That is the reason why.
trgrt:- http://astroplanet.info/?tag=venus
Regards
Jayen