Saw a bright orange object in the sky. What was it? Some friends and I were backpacking in the mountains, and at night we saw a very bright orange object in the sky. It looked brighter than Venus. After a couple minutes we realized it was moving horizontally very slowly. Its movement wasn't noticeable unless looking at it next to a reference point like a tree. This was way brighter and slower than any satellite I've seen. Anyone know what this was?
If the bright orange object was low in the southeast around midnight, it may have been Mars.
In late July and early August 2018, it will be only 0.39 AU away from Earth and shine with apparent magnitude -2.7, slightly brighter than Jupiter.
This is not as bright as Venus but may stand out more strongly in a midnight sky than Venus does in twilight.
For most of Mars's 2.1 year synodic period, it is farther from Earth and appears fainter.

As the Earth rotates, celestial objects appear to move about 1/4 degree per minute from east to west.
For observers in the northern hemisphere, objects near the southern horizon appear to move horizontally left to right.